Playing Interventionist
by Peridot0814
Summary: The name 'Hyuuga' meant 'a sunny place." Naruto took one look at Hinata and her life before laughing at the irony.
1. Chapter 1

**Playing Interventionist**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto Shippuden!**

I got the inspiration of this story from a Bollywood movie. I know it's kind of cheesy, but the underlying message behind it is just so…perfect. Anyhoo, I also noticed that there aren't all that many AU settings/ NaruHina Office Fics, as I like to call them. So here. An office fic.

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**Chapter 1**

Hinata Hyuuga hated-no, _loathed-_ parties.

Pale eyes scanned over the restless and fancily dressed crowd from a distance, slender, white-gloved fingers absent-mindedly swirling a beige alcoholic drink before she brought the glass to her rouge-painted lips, sipping ever so daintily and allowing herself to unwind _just _a little bit more. Her brows furrowed in what looked like annoyance as she noticed a few men looking her way. She ignored them, but watched as one lone member leave the group, wearing a thousand-dollar smile to match his thousand-dollar suit as he sashayed up to her.

'_If he asks me to dance, I'm going to spill this all over him.' _Hinata vowed silently as she faced her assailan-ahem, _gentleman_ with an angelic smile that would melt hearts despite her cold attitude.

"Hinata Hyuuga, daughter of Hiashi Hyuuga, I presume?" The man spoke with a deep baritone as his onyx eyes twinkled, hiding his lust and hungry stare as his eyes raked over Hinata's body. She knew that move all too well. Accustomed to the action, her smile quickly became plastic as she shifted her body to face the crowd instead of him. She answered him with that innocent tone of hers. "Indeed I am. And you must be Itachi Uchiha, heir to Uchiha Weapons and Defense, I presume?"

A pleased grin tugged at Itachi's lips as he took her hand, bowing and placing a light kiss on the back of her palm. "You presume correct."

'_Shit, kill me now.'_ Hinata grinned back at him, her eyes never leaving his face. He pulled her a bit closer, whispering into her ear. She could smell the scent of Armani cologne bathing his skin, the faint scent of expensive cigars and mint lingering on his breath.

"In case if anyone hasn't told you already, you look absolutely…_ravishing_ this fine night, Miss Hyuuga." Itachi whispered seductively, not bothering to hide his hand slowly reaching up onto the outer edge of her hip. Inwardly, Hinata cocked a brow, taken by surprise by the touch.

He was certainly _bold_. But anybody who knew Itachi Uchiha also knew the countless hearts he'd broken, his reputation as the crazy womanizer, as well as the amazing feats he'd gone through to get to his spot as the next heir to Uchiha Weapons and Defense, information provided by Hinata's grandmother since he was considered a possible candidate for Hinata's husband. Hinata would have never, in a thousand years, even _considered_ that, from beginning to end. While she was still a beautiful youth at the age of twenty six, Itachi was considerably older than her…at the age of thirty four.

Hinata knew it was her turn to play the game as she pretended to act flustered, flirting back with him with ease. She glanced down at her body as if surprised, taking in the pale-stiletto adorned leg that poked out of the slit in her halter evening gown, wrapped tightly around her. Did she mention that it had no back? Her hair was pinned up, allowing breezes to kiss the skin on her posterior and neck.

"Oh, why _thank _you!" Hinata gushed with over exaggeration on the sugar quality of her voice. Itachi took that as a signal to move in closer, pushing their bodies together as his grip around her hand tightened. Fixing her stare on his collar bone, Hinata could tell that he was staring directly at her generous cleavage.

"Come now, Gorgeous," Itachi whispered onto her neck, wiggling his fingers into hers. "Let's dance."

"Uchiha Itachi," A cold voice spoke, Hinata inwardly thanking whoever it was, eyes meeting an almost identical pair of hers. Her father stood stoically before the duo pushed against the back wall of the ballroom, adorned in a fancy black tuxedo and white bowtie, his hair held back in a low ponytail. He looked rather emotionless as Itachi pulled away slowly from Hinata, offering a remorseful grin.

"Hyuuga-san. I apologize for not meeting with you earlier." Itachi bowed respectfully, his hand still intertwined with Hinata's as he began to rub circles on the back. Hiashi nodded, acknowledging his presence though his eyes were glued to how Itachi was practically _inching_ towards his daughter. "Very well, but there are announcements to be made. May I assume that you shall dance with my daughter after I have had a turn?"

"Of course, Hyuuga-san. I shall see you two later." Itachi let out one small smile before giving one last squeeze to Hinata's hand and passing her a look. Hinata let out a small breath of relief as her father offered her his arm.

"Are you two to be courted?" Hiashi asked hesitantly, leading her away to their table, already set up with fancy foods. Hinata shook her head, watching familiar faces around her. Ino was with her date in the middle of the dance floor, Sasuke Uchiha was busy talking to someone on the phone while looking down the huge glass walls to peer at the city of Konoha beneath him. But nowhere was she able to find her best friend. Hinata inwardly frowned, reminding herself to check her messages to see if he was coming or not.

"Never, father. I hold no such interest in such a man." Hinata answered defiantly, plopping down into her seat next to her sister and cousin.

Neji took a look at her dress and arched a brow, a small smirk on his cold face. "You certainly are attracting attention with all that skin."

Hinata smirked back as she kicked him under the table, causing him to jump lightly. Hanabi stifled a loud laugh with her manicured hands as her father ignored the three siblings, paying attention more to the front of the room as the dance floor cleared.

"Why yes, I am. Problem?"

Neji shot her a dirty glance, Hanabi discreetly high-fiving her under the table with eyes glittering in admiration.

"So," She leaned into the two Hyuugas, lowering her voice down to a whisper as a hush went over the crowd. "Itachi Uchiha? Is he my next brother in law?"

"_No._" Both Hinata and Neji said in unison. She merely smirked, taking a sip of her champagne. "I apologize for _asking._"

"He's disgusting." Neji's upper lip curled in distaste as Hinata began to prod at her salad. "Sure, he was with the Akatsuki and he came back, but he's still…_ugh_."

Hinata nodded, listening thoughtfully. The sound of a throat clearing and the lights dimming except in the front captured the siblings' attention, watching as a busty woman step out in her own forest green gown, her blonde hair hanging in rivulets around her young face.

"Welcome to Konoha Corporation's impromptu party," Tsunade flashed an award-winning smile as her amber orbs scanned over the crowd. "I thank you all for joining me today in celebration of _officially_ taking down our long-term industry rival, Akatsuki Enterprises."

A small cheer was quickly hushed impatiently by Tsunade. "As you all know, the scandal that aided terrorist organizations in training and providing weapons has been finally revealed by none other of our own."

"Naruto Uzumaki," Neji explained, reading Hinata's mind. "Son of Minato Namizake, he was the one that went undercover and exposed the scandal. He's Japan's current top-notch lawyer, never lost a case."

"Neither has Nee-san." Hanabi piped in. Hinata merely nodded absent-mindedly, crossing her legs as the speech continued.

"Our business has been booming, thanks to the companies underneath Konoha Corporations. With Akatsuki crumbling, we have nothing to stand in our way, though we have some exciting news. Itachi Uchiha is here with me today to announce something very pleasing."

Hinata swallowed the bile rising in her throat at the sight of Itachi winking at her before he took his place at the podium.

"Hello all, I hope we aren't too drunk to understand what I'm saying."

A collective group of chuckles sounded.

"Good. Anyways, as you all know, I used to work with the Akatsuki. I left when things began to get out of hand with the intention of taking their leader, Madara, down if I needed to. Though I did have some help from my younger brother, Sasuke, I am here to proudly announce that Uchiha's Weapons and Defense will be merging under the corporation with my division, Agents Non-Bureaucratic Union, also known simply as ANBU. With the help of some top-notch lawyers, I believe that the merge will go indefinitely well, and I look forward to seeing you all."

Hinata clapped half-heartedly as the crowd went wild over Itachi's charm. The party quickly resumed as classical music began to play from the live orchestra and couples began to dance. Hinata held her ground to watch Neji whisk away a giggling brunette to dance and Hanabi go dance with her father, leaving her alone and vulnerable to the Uchiha. She could see him dancing with other girls before his sight rested on her, a grin spreading on his face. Hinata ducked her face quickly, hoping he wouldn't come her way before she felt tapping on her shoulder. She whirled around, sighing to meet up with her fate and came face to face with-

"You have _no_ idea how happy I am to see you." Hinata looked directly into Kiba's eyes, her best friends' sloppily pulled together ensemble making her _almost_ giggle. Kiba's hair was still messed up, his suit looked awfully uncomfortable on him, and Hinata could smell the scent of dog shampoo on his fingers as he helped her up, leading her to the dance floor.

"I'm saving your ass." Kiba spat out, trying to awkwardly waltz with her. "I say we bust the hell out of here with Ino, go back to my place, and play Street Fighter all night."

"Sounds good to me." Hinata huffed, watching Itachi pass Kiba a dirty look that he was entirely oblivious to. Kiba stumbled around as she gracefully covered his movement. Shooting him a grateful look, they returned to the table where Ino was waiting for them, arms opened as she caught Hinata in an embrace.

"Hey, doll-face." Ino greeted, kissing Hinata's cheeks. "Don't you look gorgeous?"

"Thanks, Ino." Hinata gave a small, genuine smile to her best girlfriend before her lips turned back to her cold, stoic expression.

"So, just another night of fancy parties in Konoha City, heart of Japan. Nothing special or big, right ladies?" Kiba put his arm around either female, Ino giggling and Hinata scowled, breaking out of his grip and folding her arms around her chest.

"Nice of you to _finally_ show up." Hinata scowled crossly at him. "Do you _know_ what I've been through in the past few hours?"

"The party started an hour ago, actually." Ino threw in casually, staring down a few men that were glancing in their direction flirtatiously. Hinata ignored her and continued to glower at Kiba.

"Hey, chill, okay?" Kiba made a face as he loosened his tie. "Mum was going overboard with the make-up department and, well, you know how she is."

Hinata expression softened as he offered a handshake of condolence, but didn't return it.

Kiba and Hinata were taught under the same instructor, Kurenai Yuuhi, along with another one of their friends, Shino Aburame, during their first years of college. Hinata was lacking serious social skills, Kiba was constantly getting in trouble, and Shino had moved from a foreign country, making him a bit awkward to talk to. They studied together as a way to possibly make them better at interacting, but it only brought them closer. Even after they had somewhat successfully passed with satisfactory results, they continued to stay friends since their parents all worked under Konoha Corporations. Kiba's mom was a geneticist that developed majority of her research on dogs, from behavior, tendencies, hormones, you name it, whereas Aburame Industries had been able to develop a series of medications based on animal parts, more specifically, bugs. Hinata wasn't as close to Shino as she was with Kiba, but they were on relatively good terms.

As for Ino, they pretty much grew up together. Since Ino's father was the lead manufacturer of perfumes and fragrances, especially with flowers, it was only natural that the best stays with the best. Though they were considered family friends, Hinata always imagined Ino as her parallel dimension twin.

"Heartless Hinata," Kiba grinned, taunting her with the nickname that she was all too familiar with.

"Shut up." Hinata muttered, digging through her purse to check for messages on a shiny iPhone.

"He's right, Hina." Ino finally straightened up as she thrusted her cleavage into the space before her to give the guys a glimpse of her. "Do you _know_ how many guys are afraid to talk to you?"

"If I remember correctly, _I'm_ not the only who's heartless. It's _Heartless Hyuugas._" Hinata snapped back at them. Ino and Kiba merely arched a brow, exchanging a glance.

"It began with _Hardened Hiashi,_" Kiba recited slowly.

"_Nasty Neji_ came soon after," Ino added on.

"And finished with_ Heartless Hinata._" They chorused together before exchanging high-fives in front of the Hyuuga.

"You guys are so annoying."

"But we're your best friends, and don't you forget it!" Kiba said, playfully punching her arm. "In case Hanabi turns out like you, we got her nickname ready. How does _Hard-Edged Hanabi_ sound?"

Both Ino and Hinata ignored her as the blonde of the group waggled her brows, settling onto two hands as she cast a smirk to Hinata. "I noticed Itachi Uchiha-"

"Looking like he was about to eat me? Yeah, I know." Hinata rolled her eyes plainly, remembering the utter distasteful look he was sending.

"I'd tap it." Ino shrugged, making Kiba snort out his champagne all undignified like. "Ew! He's like…._forty_."

"Thirty four, actually, Kiba." Another voice said from behind the trio. Hinata rolled her eyes, wondering if people _always_ intruded in on conversations without being invited. Turning around, she found herself face to face with none other than Sasuke Uchiha.

Sasuke and she went to school together, but he was only in a few of her classes. They were friends, but not close enough to be extremely informal on.

"Hinata, I apologize for my brother's stupidity." Sasuke glowered, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "That creep doesn't understand that he isn't supposed to be hitting on my workers."

"Wait, _your_ workers? I work under Hyuuga Firms." Hinata reminded, stopping him. Sasuke looked at her blankly, then to the other two; a private way of saying, _'some privacy would be appreciated.'_

"Hey, Kibbles, let's go dance!" Ino winked at Sasuke before dragging Kiba and melting into the crowd of dancing people. He took a seat next to her, watching as she arched a brow with a scowl on her face.

"First and foremost, I am a married man so I am nothing like my brother." Sasuke reminded, holding up his left hand to show his wedding band. "Second, I assumed that your father would tell you. With your sister taking over the company, you will be working underneath my company temporarily to assist my brother and I with the merge."

Hinata's mouth fell open, her champagne glass falling against the white linen of the table-cloth, staining it beige.

_What!?_ She was supposed to be taking over the company! Not her sister! Hanabi was going to freaking _art school_ right after she was done with high school! Hinata busted her ass just so she could make her father deem her worthy of the position, or at least _acknowledge_ that she was trying!

"You father didn't tell you that your sister was taking over the company, did he?" Sasuke asked gently. He put a reassuring hand on Hinata's shoulder, watching as she bowed her head and pushed one of the locks that framed her face uselessly behind her ear. "Hinata, you're a great lawyer that I am absolutely positive on. You've got a rep, haven't lost a case ever since you entered the law field. Don't get bummed out…I hear that you'll be working alongside your sister as her assistant."

"That's so…_embarrassing_." Hinata whispered, choking on her own voice as humiliated tears threatened to ruin her carefully caked on make-up. Sasuke gave a gentle squeeze, putting an arm around her comfortingly.

"Look, you underestimate yourself. I _need_ you to work on this task, Hinata. You have no idea how important it is that I have the current greatest lawyer in all of Konoha with me on this merge."

"Yeah, yeah." Hinata mumbled, fishing for her hand mirror to look at herself, hoping that her makeup wasn't frayed.

"So you'll do it?" Sasuke asked hopefully, watching as she poked at her eyeliner. She sighed as she the compact mirror shut, shaking her head. Her once brimming-with-sorrow face was instantly turned into a cold mask, a smile forcing itself on Hinata's lips.

"Yes. I look forward to working with you, Uchiha-san."

"We're friends, Hinata." Sasuke rolled his eyes, playfully pulling on one of the two locks of hair at her face. "Stop with the formalities. And you're not going to be working with me."

"I'm not?" Hinata's face contorted into confusion as Sasuke nodded. "Yep. You're going to be working with Naruto Uzumaki."

The room stood still for a moment as Hinata's eyes widened, her grip on the edge of the table tightening as she nearly choked on her champagne. "Wait, the one that exposed the scandal?"

Sasuke nodded as he loosened his tie, grumbling about how it was a deathtrap. "Hm? Oh, yeah. He's very friendly-"

"I hope you're aware that i do my best work by myself." Hinata butted in abruptly, shifting uncomfortably in her seat.

"I know, Hinata, but you have to understand that this merge is a big deal. I know this is highly unlikely, but let's say, hypothetically of course, that you mess up somewhere along the way? None of us would be able to catch it, but Naruto, he's got the eyes and mind-set of Kami himself." Sasuke pointed out.

Hinata's mouth hardened into a line, obviously not buying it. Sasuke sighed. "Please, Hinata? As my friend? I'll even personally ask Hiashi to give you your well-owned position back. There's no way in hell that Hanabi's going to take care of such a huge firm."

Hinata bit her lip, considering the offer. If she worked with a random guy for just a couple of months, endured the pain and pushed through it, she could have the job of a _life time_. She already knew how she would divide up the work, the pieces of the puzzle falling into place.

"Well? What do you say? I'll even put a restraining order on Itachi for you!" Sasuke offered, a smile on his face. Hinata looked up at him, the image of her sitting at the top of Hyuuga Firm's lavish building, becoming invincible in the law field, gaining her hard-earned father's approval...

"I'll do it."

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So that's chapter one. Naruto _will_ be in the story, you just have to wait for him! Next chapter, I promise! Now, I believe we will also be covering some footage of what the Hyuuga household is like, if you couldn't guess it already.


	2. Chapter 2

**Playing Interventionist**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto Shippuden! **

**Shout out to: Katsumi Hatake and Broken**

**You guys are awesome! Thanks for reviewing! I dedicate this chapter to you both:P**

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Hinata's jaw was hardened as she unlocked the classic French backdoor to her rather lavish small house, the cover of the night skirting her though the harsh winter cold leaving her mercilessly a victim. She left the party at two AM after realizing that the clamor wasn't going to die down anytime soon. With people getting drunk, there was nothing really going on other than dirty dancing, a few fights and ultimately, horny sexually-repressed-and-frustrated young adults leaving to go screw and do Kami-knows-what in shady bathroom stalls.

A shudder rippled down her bare spine at the thought of watching Ino Frenching with Chouji as he pushed her into a random closet with his porky hands, Hinata nearly gagging upon remembering how _into_ it Ino was.

The doors opened to her without hesitation, but she had too much on her mind and her mood was currently rather shitty, to put it simply.

First off, Itachi Uchiha couldn't get his disgusting hands _off_ of her. He even squeezed her ass at some point until she back-handed him and Sasuke punched him in the face, knocking him out entirely. Hiashi decided that he would incur his wrath upon him later, when he was conscious and sober enough to understand what the hell was going on, whereas Neji decided that it would be smart to start a mass rumor that he was carrying a severe case of genital herpes.

Then, she couldn't make her great escape to the comforts of Kiba's apartment flat, where she could wear sweatpants and a ratty old tee-shirt for all she cared about and play the night away on his Xbox.

But he, like most single men, decided that taking advantage of the hundreds of girls that were drunk on that dance floor was far more important than keeping up with his best friend.

Hinata rolled her eyes, reminding herself to give severe silent treatment to both her best friends.

And then there was the thing that was weighing her down the most: She wasn't heir to Hyuuga Firm anymore. And then, what _really_ drove her to leave: Her father announced it in front of a vicious pack of piranha like reporters.

Hinata bit her lip as she fought back tears, ripping off her stilettos and dress in the middle of her abandoned, darkened living room. Wearing only her lacy panties, her feet found themselves quickly treading over the cold, uninviting marble floor as she escaped to her bedroom, allowing her façade to finally fall.

She let out a quiet sob as she sank to the ground, her hot back pressed against the mahogany double doors of her room.

How could her father do this to her? This was considered an utter betrayal. She bent over backwards ever since she started _pre-school_ just to make her father proud, just to see him smile at her appraisingly, just to see some form of encouragement. Hinata remembered her teenage years when she announced that she was president of the student government, was class valedictorian and was accepted into the most prestigious law school.

Her gaze narrowed at the ground as she remembered the last spoken words on the microphone that compelled her to leave.

"_My daughter, Hinata, has proved to be incapable of taking care of affairs by herself, and so, the new heir to Hyuuga Firms will be none other than Hanabi Hyuuga."_

_That_ broke her heart.

Hinata pulled herself together hastily as she trudged into her bathroom to indulge in a hot bath to wash _some_ of the stress away. She stopped by the mirror, taking a good look at herself.

Unnatural-but-natural dark blue hair? Check.

Pale, red puffy eyes? Check.

Smeared and streaky makeup? Check.

Hinata simply inhaled deeply as she stared back at the girl in the mirror, mimicking her every move. Fresh tears escaped her eyes as they worsened her already screwed up make-up, foundation, mascara and eyeliner all mixing with her salty tears to produce a milky blank color that fell from one cheek and onto her breast.

She _hated_ herself, without a doubt. She always messed things up, that was the reason why she wasn't getting the position she was fooling herself with. Hinata accepted that a long time ago, but she didn't think that it would be brought upon her as harshly as it did today.

Her father deemed her "incapable" because she was emotionally unstable growing up. It wasn't too long ago when Kiba was noticing the depression in her teenage years, Ino was growing aggravated with the constant mood swings as she came into her twenties, and Hanabi could always here the sobbing though they had a wall separating their rooms when she was a child. Neji was the one who got her to see the psychologist, whom, much to her displeasure, she had to go see every week to talk about her feelings.

And oh, the horror of the Hyuuga name if the media found out that a supposedly mentally ill girl

Of course, her father merely played it off as that Hinata should be focusing on more important things in her life, such as settling down. Hanabi remained pale-faced and wide eyed throughout the entire process, the news of equal shock to her as it was to Hinata.

Hinata closed her eyes as she slipped into the scalding water of her back, immediately tinging her pallid skin rosy.

'_My life is utter and complete shit.'_ Hinata concluded silently, tipping her head back and letting out a long sad sigh.

* * *

Sunday morning was not nice to Hinata with her sunshine poking through Hinata's drapes, endlessly poking said girl's eyeballs with a stream of light. Luckily for her, the day went by faster than expected. She had to go to work, naturally, but she didn't do all that much other than open three new files, win two cases, then return to her office in Hyuuga Firms skyscraper in the heart of busy bustling Konoha to begin cleaning out her supplies for when she moved down the street to Uchiha Weapons and Defense.

So you could imagine how exhausted she was when she returned home that evening.

Cursing herself internally, she silently vowed that she would never wear high-heels to work ever again. It was all flats and boots from now on. Peeling off the death-traps, she took hold of them by the straps when she was cut off by a sugary sweet voice.

"Hinata-chan? Is that you?"

'_Fuck me.' _Hinata grimaced as she turned to meet the owner, mechanically smiling graciously at none other than her shriveled grandmother, Hanaka. She stood aloof, her normal grim expression replaced with a smile-something that indicated that there was something sketchy going on. Her traditional kimono matched her seemingly-warm attitude, as she was draped over in hues of pink and yellow, something that contrasted badly against her almost white skin and graying hair that was ruthlessly pulled into a bun.

Beady, pale eyes stared at Hinata curiously, thin lips spreading into a grin beneath a pointy nose and settling into the crevice between two weathered pallid cheeks. Hanaka graciously walked over to Hinata, giving her a light peck on the cheek, watching as Hinata awkwardly fumbled with her Ray-Ban glasses.

"Sweetheart, maybe it's time you take those off," Hanaka reached up, about to whisk off the designer glasses before Hinata cut her off.

"I need them to see, Obaa-san. I'm blind without them." Hinata protested, sliding past her grandmother, feeling a sharp tug on the back of her blouse as her grandmother snatched her back.

'_How the hell is she this strong?'_ Hinata fell back into a chair as her grandmother began speaking, plopping down in front of her casually as if she didn't just yank Hinata off of her feet.

"Sweetheart, you have contacts. If you need more, I already called the optomologist, and he'd be more than happy to provide you with some more pairs. You look like a child with that baby-face of yours, and you make yourself look even worse with those pathetic glasses you wear!" Hanaka shrilled as she began tugging on Hinata's bangs viciously, easily pulling out her hair tie that she spent so long on making the bun that sat on top of her head, allowing waist length hair to fall into place. "Oh, and it looks like you need a haircut as well. And what is _with_ your hair? You look like a cat with your bangs covering your eyes! My Kami, your hair is so _thin_! It's because of your stupid father, I swear. You inherited all the wrong genes, thank goodness you got the color from my daughter. Don't worry, I know the _perfect_ hairstylist for this one, trust me."

Hinata remained stoic, feeling her heart drop slightly and kept her eyes glued to her hands as her grandmother continued to make plans for her.

"And as for your wardrobe, I'm _appalled _by the amount of slacks and blazers you wear! _Men_ wear slacks and blazers, why don't you hang out with Ino and go shopping together? I'm sure she'd be able to get a few dresses and skirts that'll-"

"_Why_?" Hinata asked suddenly, eyes still glued to her hands. Her grandmother blinked twice before replying as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Her smile was twice as sugary as it was before.

"Well, honey, since you're not going to inherit the company, why don't you begin making yourself look…attractive?"

"I'm not attractive enough?" Hinata asked, clearly offended, feeling the gray clouds above her and pour down. Hanako shook her head furiously. "Of course not, dear! I'm just trying to do what's best for you, and what I'm telling you is that boys don't like girls who dress like their still in middle school! It's time for you to get married, provide me some grandchildren? I know a lot of young men out there that are interested in you. Say, speaking of, that absolutely _divine_ Uchiha boy-"

"_This_ is what this is all about?" Hinata moaned, immediately getting up. "I told you already, Obaa-san, I'm _not _getting married till I'm like, thirty!" Hinata whirled around, getting ready to make her dramatic leave as her grandmother held onto her wrist, digging her manicured nails into her skin.

"_Thirty?"_ Hanako growled viciously as her façade easily fell to the floor. "Don't make me laugh, Hinata. You are absolutely _not _going to get married _that_ old."

Hinata struggled out of her grasp, nursing her now bleeding wrist with a few punctures. "You can't force me to fall in love, Obaa-san. It might have worked with you, but not me. Besides, if you're so concerned about having grandchildren, why don't you look at the eldest? Neji's twenty seven and I don't see-"

A sharp pain came in contact with Hinata's right cheek as she staggered back a few steps, nearly doubling over the pain. She felt her grandmother pull at her hair, making her level with her widened enraged eyes.

"Listen to me, Hinata Hyuuga," Hanaka snarled, pulling Hinata closer to her face. Hinata let out a small whimper as she struggled against her grip, only to feel it tighten and yank harder at her scalp.

"That _bastard_ is not my _grandson_! You understand me, girl? Don't you _dare_ think for a moment that I'll let you get away for thinking that he's a part of our family!" Hanaka yelled at Hinata, the victim's tears falling freely down her flushed face to stain her blouse.

"He's my _cousin_…" Hinata whispered. That was the wrong answer, as Hanaka pulled Hinata's head back and slapped her again against the same cheek as before.

"He took away your _mother_, you selfish, ungrateful girl!" Hanaka spat. "He took away my daughter! My _only_ daughter! It's an unfor-"

"What are you _doing!_?" A voice, ice cold, slowly raised to meet the yelling volume at which Hanaka was at. Hinata felt herself being pulled away before she was pushed into a familiar scent. Arms mechanically wrapped around her as Hinata clutched onto Neji's shirt as Hiashi stood off to face Hanaka.

"What are you saying about my son? He's just as much as your grandson as Hinata and Hanabi are your grandchildren!" Hiashi yelled. Hinata closed her eyes, fisting Neji's shirt as his grip around her tightened, leading her away silently. Neji remained stoic as the two began to argue, thankful that Hinata's door was able to block out the noise when he shut the door behind them. He dropped his arms limply to watch Hinata quickly trudge into her closet and close the door behind her, her sobs becoming more audible now.

He knew what she felt. Her father didn't care at all that she was just getting her hair pulled out of her head; he only cared about what Hanaka had to say about what she said. Neji sat on Hinata's bed, rubbing his face wearily though his own room was just down the hallway.

Neji never understood _why_ his grandmother loathed him. He was Hinata's first cousin, and when they were at family reunions everything would be fine. But when he got adopted into the family after his dad, Hizashi, died, things became ugly. The warmth of Hanaka's smile was only reserved for Hinata and Hanabi, and always treated Neji with upmost diatribe. The door to Hinata's closet opened again, revealing Hinata, her emotionless mask on in her ratty clothing, staring out blankly through the window.

"Hinata? You okay?" Neji asked, unsure if this was another of her panic attacks. Hinata merely nodded, Neji relaxing lightly when she offered the smallest of smiles.

"I should be asking you that. _You_ were the one she was cursing, anyways." Hinata opened her arms, Neji complying as he gave his sister-by-adoption a hug. "I don't understand any of this."

"Any of what, Hina?" Neji asked, feeling her unsettling heart rapidly race in her ribcage. Hinata was very good at disguising her feelings, but Neji knew that on the inside, as soon as he left the room, she would cry the night away.

"Why…just why aren't we happy." Hinata offered, feeling the tears well up again as the door opened once more. A sniffle accompanied, the door closing softly behind as Hinata felt another pair of arms wrap around her instinctively.

"I _hate _her." Hanabi cried openly, sinking into Hinata's chest as Hinata stroked her hair, immediately blinking back her own tears.

"_Shh_, you don't mean that." Hinata tried to comfort, but really, there isn't much heart to give when it's all broken.

"I do! I-if Okaa-san was with us, n-none of this would happen! She wouldn't be here!" Hanabi trembled before breaking out into a sob. "Oh, Kami, _why_!? _You_ should've gotten that position, not me!"

"There's nothing we can do about it now." Neji calmly acclaimed, though the saddened look was evident in his own eyes. He collected either girl under his arm as Hanabi let out her emotions, Neji watching on Hinata in amazement as her face hardened. She had no time for tears.

"We need a guardian angel." Hanabi whispered silently. Hinata gulped, knowing where this was eventually leading to.

"Our guardian angel is out there, Hanabi. We have to be patient though, and be grateful for what we have right now." Hinata recited her mother's dialogue perfectly, the sting of the tears not helping her at all. Neji squeezed her shoulders compassionately as the shouts died downstairs, accompanied by the slamming of doors.

"Hina-chan?" Hanabi looked up hopefully at her older sister, Hanabi cupping her face and wiping away tears with her thumb.

"Yes?"

"Can we…we pray together? Like we used to do with Okaa-san?" Hanabi asked, fingers intertwining with her older sister's. Hinata swallowed the growing lump in her throat as she nodded meekly, getting into position in front of the small cross that hung up next to the window of Hinata's room. The trio got down onto their knees, skin contacting the cold, uninviting wood that the shaggy carpet didn't reach as they silently bowed their heads.

Clearing her throat, Hinata tried to erase the shakiness of her throat, but she feared it wouldn't be so, hoping that she remembered the prayer as well as her mother had drilled it into her.

"_My Father, I pray that I may have patience to live through the difficulties of life. May I correct my faults, that they may not destroy my peace and take from me my strength; help me to center my life in brightness and hope._"

A breeze flung open the window of the room, the three of them completely oblivious to the billowing curtains just a few inches from their faces.

Hinata opened her eyes, hands still together as she felt something in her stir. Her heart was immediately lifted, as if somebody had taken off the pressure of a thousand burdens on her dainty shoulders. What was this? Why did she feel so…_calm_?

A single tear slid down her previously slapped cheek as she finally drew the bodies of her siblings to her, burrowing into them.

It was relief.

* * *

He took in a deep breath of air, feeling his heartbeat accelerate lightly as he found tranquility in the cold city of Konoha. Leaning on the iron railing of his balcony, he watched with wide blue eyes the first snow fall upon the busy streets of Konoha. He ran a hand through his blonde locks, closing his eyes and feeling the winter breezes kiss s skin playfully, ruffling his clothes. He turned to return inside, where he could hear his mother and Jiraiya arguing though something caught the corner of his eye from the base of the balcony.

A bright yellow bathed the room in sunshine as he curiously leaned against the railing again, looking down and watching with a newfound interest. The window was wide open, the curtains ruffling through the air to reveal two figures on their knees. They both had the same pale features, and dark brown hair, eyes clasped together, eyebrows pulled in concentration, and mouths moving but no sound coming out.

_Praying_.

He gaped as the curtain of the room teased him a bit, revealing one other figure. Moving his head anxiously, he tilted to see who it was before another harsh breeze pulled away the curtain, the face of the girl nearly causing his jaw to drop.

'_Is…that an angel?'_

Indigo hair was thrown back, fighting playfully against the wind, pink lips moving on their own. He didn't know who these people were, but it didn't take a mad scientist to see they were obviously unhappy. A tear shed down her cheek and he felt as if he had the drive to jump down and wipe it for her, protect her, bring a smile to that broken face.

The cobalt princess opened her lavender eyes hesitantly, as if she could _feel_ his very presence. He gasped, feeling all time and space close between the two as her eyes slowly traveled up to stare at something blankly. He quickly stepped back, dazed at the events that just happened. Looking up to the sky, a new grin spreading on his face, he leaned over the balcony again to watch her. She collected her other two companions into an embrace, hugging them as if she were never going to let go, one of them sobbing and the other remaining rigid.

'_I don't know who you are, princess, but I'm going to bring happiness into your life.'_ He vowed silently stepping away, to respect their privacy.

"Naruto? What are you doing out there without a jacket?!" Naruto whirled around to find his red-haired mother matching her red-with-rage face as she shook his jacket violently, teeth chattering at the sudden drop of temperature.

"Kaa-chan, you wear it! I'm just thinking about a game." Naruto said, smiling at her. Kushina arched a brow, planting her hands on her hips as she cocked a brow. "Really? And that would be?"

Naruto grinned at her slyly, turning to face the busy streets once more.

"_Interventionist_."

* * *

Annnd that's chapter 2! Okay, well, I don't expect many reviews, but I would appreciate it seriously if you did. Meh, I've been busy and stuff, so be happy I was able to post this! Anyhoo, next chapter is going to be the first official meeting between our lovey Hyuuga and Naruto!

Note, I know that there are some flaws in Hinata's character…how can she be emotionally unstable if she's able to put on a brave face? She breaks down easily but can pick herself up and dust herself off. More information on that would be a spoiler:P

In case if i offend anyone since emotional unstability is considered a mental health issue, i want to apoogize in advance, so please do not flame me.

Also, just so you know, i found that prayer off of the web,so i apologize profusely in case if it's incorrect. I'm Muslim. I don't know any Christian prayers.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 4**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto Shippuden!**

_Shout out to: "Hiccup," Shoma, Katsumi Hatake, Kilalahinanaruto555, Okazaki323, "Guest," TheLoverOfMusic, "Guest," Trosiestar1, Xpurplegurlx Narutothedevil, and super special shout out to AirmanLance. I'm so sorry I forgot to include you in the last chapter! Gah, I feel terrible :S Anyways, thank you all so, much for your reviews! I devoured them (mentally, of course) and are sitting in the back of my mind like trophies :3_

**So, I've been getting a lot of questions. **

**Why Hanaka hates Neji? **Oh, if I told you, that'd be a spoiler :P Let's just say it has something to do with taking Hinata's mom away…

**Why Hiashi doesn't like Hinata? **Similar to the anime, Hiashi deems her weak and therefore, is a burden on the Hyuuga name.

**Where does Naruto live?!** I guess since you're going to read it it'd be okay to tell you. Naruto is currently dwelling at the residence of none other than the great author: Jiraiya! He and the Hyuugas are neighbors!

**Hinata's personality?** You know how bullies only pick on other kids because their insecure about themselves? Think of it like that in Hinata's case. She's also got a bit of a hardened heart because of the shit she's gone through.

**Christians? But their ASIAN!** Another thing that will be mentioned in LATER chapter, my little gems!

On to the story now…

* * *

"Come _on_, Hina-chan! You can't be mad at me _forever._" Ino reasoned unsuccessfully with the Hyuuga ex-heiress, only to get a silent warning as said girl looked at her through narrow eyes, following the crowd of frantic office-goers, much like them, up the line in Starbucks.

Their subway was scheduled to departure in twenty minutes, so they followed their normal routine of grabbing a coffee and bagel before heading onto the subway. Ino's destination was three stops before Hinata's, but as Ino left, Kiba came on since Inuzuka Industries was on the same street as both Hyuuga Firms and Uchiha Weapons and Defense. Hell, they were right across from each other!

"Yikes! What bit you in the ass this morning?" Ino joked, playfully pulling on one of Hinata's looser tresses with a heavily-bracelet adorned arm. The blonde, being the fashionista she was, wore a tea-green taffeta skirt that ended at her knees, accompanied by a loose beige sweater that hung over her curvy frame. Her hair was done with the normal high-ponytail, her knee-high boots tapping impatiently as they waited for their turn to order. In all, she looked like she was dressed to kill though it was probably like, five degrees with the winter weather.

"I'm really _not_ in the mood, Ino." Hinata said dryly, pushing her Ray-Bans farther up the bridge of her nose. Ino's nose crinkled. "Everything okay?"

"Oh, yeah, just _peachy_." Hinata sneered sarcastically in response, turning to the teenage cashier. "Two tall expressos and a bagel on the go."

"Make that one!" Ino added in quickly as she beat Hinata to paying. She turned to give her friend a meaningful look. "I'm on a diet. Wanna talk about it?"

"Wanna talk about the awesome sex you had with Chouji?" Hinata countered hotly in response, waiting for their hot drinks to be served. She unbuttoned the final two buttons on her coat, cursing the lack of cold the grimy subway station had to offer while she was bundled. Hinata was dressed as dully as Ino was vibrant, sporting a pair of navy slacks on her legs with a lavender blouse she found in the back of her walk-in closet.

"Oh Kami, Hinata, you're mad at me over _that_!? I was _drunk!_" Ino protested. Hinata rolled her eyes, obviously not buying it. "You totally ditched me that night, Ino!"

"Because I was _drunk_!" Ino reasoned once more. She pouted her perky pink lips. "Sheesh, I apologize for having a bit fun! And just for the record, I totally was up for leaving until Kiba started making out with the waitress."

"Well, I guess it's safe to say that we can blame him." Hinata sighed, taking a bite out of her bagel and washing it down with her coffee. Ino looked at her skeptically.

"Are you okay? You wouldn't get mad at me over my many-sexual-counters." Ino frowned as they began walking with the huge stream of people rushing to get to work.

"Yeah, no forget it. I'm just in a shitty mood from last night." Hinata admitted, offering an apologetic look.

Ino's eyebrows pulled together in concern as they continued to walk. "Another fight?"

Hinata nodded, head bowing lightly as the memories that she tried so hard to push away surfaced immediately. She swallowed the lump in her throat, hoping that her adeptly painted make-up wouldn't be ruined because she was a baby. "Yeah." She managed to choke out.

Ino sighed, holding Hinata's hand and giving it a squeeze. "The right side of my bed is always open for you in case if things get rough, you know."

Ino knew that Hinata's family fought often, but she never questioned why. She always told herself that when Hinata was ready, she would tell her herself, but that wouldn't stop her from feeling overly-concerned for Hinata, especially when her confidence was low as was.

Hinata had appreciate her genuine best-friends' concern. Giving a squeeze back, she gave a small smile. "Thanks, I know. So tell me, how was he?" She asked casually, hoping to change the topic of discussion.

"Who? Chouji?" Ino asked, confused. "Oh, gross, don't even get me started. _No_ amount of alcohol could get me tipsy enough to get him laid. Oh did I tell you? I have a blind date today!"

Hinata had to force on a smile as Ino told the story of how he ended up passing out on top of her in the midst of making out before switching stories. Though a quarter of her attention was on Ino's anecdote, the other seventy-five percent was worried and scared shitless. She was working in an unconventional new setting, she didn't _know_ anybody, she didn't know who this Naruto Uzumaki was, and ultimately, she had other concerns on her mind.

Like her family.

Hanaka was sure to grill Hinata's ass tonight. Sure, she wasn't probably going to slap her or anything like that-Hinata's _twenty six,_ thank you very much- but she wasn't going to let this fight go silently.

The problem with Hinata's family was that they were just simply at war with each other. It was an immense battle, Hanaka versus Hiashi, Hanaka versus Neji, Hiashi versus Hinata…

But they always fought. And the best way they did it was none other than by using one another.

"_He took your mother away!" _

The pushed away memory burst through her ears, nearly making her gasp loudly if she weren't in public.

Hinata began chewing on her pink lipsticked lips as Ino rambled on about her life, tuning her out silently.

Neji was Hinata's adopted older brother. He was also her cousin from her father's side of the family, being the son of Hiashi's brother, Hizashi. Hinata was told that after Neji's parents died in an unexpected car-crash, he was adopted into their family so he could live as his son. Hinata was excited naturally, when at her ripe age at seven, she was going to have an older brother _and_ a younger sister. What more could a girl ask for other than more play friends?

But that's when it went all wrong. As Neji entered the house, within the month, Haruko left.

There was no divorce. There were no fights. No loud slamming of doors, no flying swears and curses, nothing.

Their happiness all ended when Hiashi came home to discover his wife's body in the bathtub, drenched in her own blood as her slit wrists continued to pour out whatever life was left in them.

Hinata wasn't allowed to see the body. Not even as they cremated it or at the funeral in church, which she also wasn't allowed to attend. Hanaka, who had been living with them, had simply become deranged by her daughter's death and preyed on Neji for taking her away. _That_ was when things became ugly.

Neji didn't cause her mother's death, there was just no way. Hinata contemplated about it over and over and over before, and she never could get any logical reasoning. She simply thought that her mother was just tired of the burdens of life. And oddly enough, Hinata could _see_ why.

"Hey! Look, our subway's here!" Ino excitedly pulled on Hinata's hand and waking her out of her thoughts as she began dragging her across the packed platform.

"Wait!" Hinata held up her luke-warm coffee, about to throw it out in a garbage can nearby. She held out her hand, about to throw it in-

-before someone collided with her hand, ultimately spilling the strong drink all over her light blouse.

"No!" Hinata gasped immediately, dropping the cup to look at the growing wet stain on her blouse in disbelief. Her head whipped up immediately to watch for the idiot that spilled it, only finding a sea of heads.

"This is terrible! On my first fucking day too!" Hinata groaned as she began rummaging through her handbag for tissues before realizing that Hanabi had used up all of them when she wasn't looking.

"What happened?" Ino asked, finally noticing the bent over girl. She quickly dragged her arm through the closing doors of the subway, looking at the repulsive brown stain on her shirt.

"Oh, dearie…" Ino murmured as Hinata gave her a horrified glance. "What the fuck am I going to do!?"

"Hold on, I think I've got something in here…" Ino began fumbling through her purse before she looked up at the crowded subway.

"Oh my Kami! Hinata_, look_!" Ino shrilled quietly to Hinata's obviously annoying her. "Look at him!"

She pointed to an ink-haired man who was wearing cargo-pants and bobbing his head through large headphones, mouthing the lyrics.

"He's so cute!" Ino swooned, beginning to bounce lightly. Hinata felt her vein pop as she stopped the urge to slap her.

"Look at me! _Look at me_! How am I supposed to go to work like this!?" Hinata grabbed her shoulders, shaking her as her voice began to speak in her dangerously low tone.

"What is that guy going to do, Ino? Huh? If he's so special, why don't you just date him? Then you'll marry him, quit your job, have his kids, and you know what he's going to do? Do you!?" Ino remained wide-eyed from taking in the rant, not stopping the enraged Hyuuga. "He's going to _leave_ you. Then what are you going to do, Ino!?"

Ino looked at her blankly before replying dumbly. "I'll get married again, of course."

Hinata face-palmed. "You know what? Just forget it. Forget everything." She spat.

Ino sighed, shuffling through her bag to find a Tide-to-Go stick for her. She slid an arm around Hinata as she offered the stick as a peace offering. "Hina, sweetheart, you need to relax. Have a bit of fun! You're one of the most uptight people I've ever met. I don't know _how_ your new coworker will stand being in the same _room_ as you!"

* * *

"I don't get how you're so energetic. Aren't you supposed to be jet-lagged from coming from New York?" Sasuke whined as Naruto pulled his amazed stare from outside the snow-covered streets of Konoha.

"Meh, I got plenty of sleep last night." Naruto said absent-mindedly as he ran a finger across the smooth surface of his new desk, plopping into his chair. "You would think my sixty-year-old god-father would be annoyed with the amount of noise my mom and me made, but turns out he's just like us. We even got complained about!"

"I can't believe you're proud of that." Sasuke shook his head pitifully. "How long are you going to be staying with him in his apartment?"

"Damn straight I am! And just until me and Mum find an apartment since she doesn't really want to intrude in on Jiraiya and his private life..." Naruto trailed off, hoping that Sasuke could fill in the blanks. Sasuke nodded furiously, understanding the point all too well.

"Oh, Kami, that's nasty..."

"Yeah, tell me about it. I was putting my crap in my drawers and I found all these manuscripts that were all porn. I don't understand how those books have become best-sellers." Naruto scratched her head thoughtfully.

"My brother's obsessed with the Icha Icha Paradise series. I don't see how they're not friends or acquainted with each other, seeing how he's all up high and stuff and Jiraiya's also up there with being the number one author of all time in Japan..." Sasuke mused quietly. A small silence was passed between the two, both of them left in their own thoughts.

"So, what's she like?" Naruto asked casually, spinning around in his plush wheely chair as Sasuke stared at him in disapproval, crossing his arms across his buff chest. He wore black slacks and black dress shoes, just like any other male in the building, along with a crisp gray collared shirt and dark purple tie.

"Who? Hinata-chan?" Sasuke asked, arching a brow. She was supposed to come in any minute now…

Naruto nodded, stopping his chair and placed his Italian shoes on the desk. Dressed in black slacks and repulsively orange dress shirt, Naruto Uzumaki felt like a king looking down one of the busiest streets of Japan and admiring the view he had from his twenty-second story office. His desk was in front of one of the two walls that remained blank, the other vacant one sitting patiently on the opposite side of the room, facing him.

Naruto finally put his feet down, leaning on his hands dreamily and wide eyed with curiosity as Sasuke flipped through the enormous stack of paperwork, reminding him of all the work that he and his new coworker were supposed to be accomplishing within the next year.

"Is she fun, or pretty or-"

"She's the most uptight person I've ever met in my life." Sasuke said flatly. "She doesn't take shit from any one on her level. Not even me."

"Oh?" Naruto cocked a brow, his smile faltering lightly before it turned into a heavy frown. "If I didn't know any better, I would say you're either to trying to get me to become serious or her to have some fun."

A small smile tugged at the corner of Sasuke's lips as her smirked at him. "Oh gee, what gave it away? No, she's really the best of the best. Out of all the cases she's gone through from interning to now, she hasn't lost a single one. Her streak is just…phenomenal. The poor girl's really overworked though. She's only uptight because she's got a lot of shit going on in her life."

"Oh." Naruto said thoughtfully, resuming with his previous spinning motion. "I'm pretty sure we'll get along well."

"Who knows? I'm busy trying to keep Itachi away from her as much as possible. He wanted me to promote her to his personal secretary." Sasuke's lips curled up in disgust. His cellphone automatically broke out into the same preset ringtone before he glanced at the screen, groaning.

"Is it _the wife_?" Naruto asked, making the word seem like a monster as he smirked at Sasuke. Sasuke nodded grimly, sighing in defeat. "I gotta take this one. I'll be back, so don't fuck anything up."

As Sasuke left the room with a soft _click_ of the door, Naruto did the complete opposite. He immediately sprang out of his desk, nearly toppling over the two-foot stack of papers and his chair, a mischievous grin on his face as he snatched open the paper compartment to the printer.

He didn't think about the amount of trees that would have been wasted, instead, considering them sacrificial martyrs to his cause. Excitedly crumpling each paper into a tightly packed ball, he threw them under his wood desk where no one could see them. He rocketed back behind his desk, waiting patiently as he held two of the fifteen paper balls to throw at Sasuke before his uptight new worker came alone.

He glanced at the door as he heard a familiar deep baritone exchange inaudible words as the rapid of clicking high-heels, fueling his excitement furthermore as he waited for Sasuke to return.

* * *

"Itachi-san!" Hinata gasped in pure surprise as she nearly stumbled back on her heels, feeling a knot of dread tie her stomach as the Uchiha grinned and slid into the elevator with her. Hinata _hoped_ that she was smiling back, but the last place she wanted to be with Itachi Uchiha was in an elevator that was going from the lobby to the twenty-second floor.

'_Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuck fuckfuck….' _She slowly stopped herself from trembling, taking in a sharp inhale of breath as she held a steady pointer finger hovering over the black buttons of the rather extravagant elevator. Soft piano music played quietly as Itachi followed after her into the elevator. Regaining herself, she asked. "Um, what floor?"

From behind Itachi's head, Hinata could practically _feel_ the intense glares of jealous secretaries that worked at the front desk. As soon as Hinata had entered the building, all conversations ceased as they gave her the most sugary fake attitudes that would rival her own. As she quickly showed her identification, she was led to the elevator, where she was supposed to ride it up to the twenty-second floor before Itachi Uchiha had decided that he too, also had to go there.

"Wherever you're going." Itachi said huskily, pressing the button that slid the doors shut, Hinata feeling all signs of hope disappear into oblivion as she prepared herself for two minutes in hell with Itachi. He kept a coy smile on his face as the doors close behind them. Cocking his head lightly, he turned to make no motion of hiding his lustful gaze from scanning her body, lingering on her hips and her chest.

"I missed you, sweetheart." Itachi grinned at her as he slid an arm around her shoulders. Hinata forced on her grin.

'_Fuck you. All the way to hell.'_

"Well, that's nice of you."

Itachi pretended to pout as his free hand began stroking the tresses of hair on the left side of her face. "You didn't miss me?"

'_What the hell do you think?'_

"Well, I knew we were going to be in the same building…" Hinata offered. Though her point was weak, her voice wasn't as her grin began to falter lightly. If _this_ was the shit that she was going to be putting up with, there was hell no way Sasuke could make her stay. She prayed that the elevator would hurry the hell up, or else she was sure that she was going to lose her virginity right here in a stupid elevator.

"Oh, that's right! You were excited, weren't you? You're too cute." Itachi's grin returned as he began to cup her face. "So, what are you doing after this?"

'_Definitely not you.'_ She thought bitterly. "Probably more office work. I heard that the process is going to take about a year, well, I intend on finishing it all before that."

"What? You sound like you actually _want_ to leave." Itachi said, a light frown pulling his eyebrows in fake concern.

'_Oh gee, I wonder what gave it away.'_ Hinata swallowed the rising bile in her throat as she began to think of an excuse. "Well, I don't want too many _distractions_ to stop me from working efficiently."

"_Oh_." Itachi said, his grin turning wider as he leaned down, inhaling her scent, much to Hinata's disgust.

"You're also an expresso person?" Itachi asked suddenly, Hinata immediately self-conscious of the still-wet coffee stain plastered on her chest. She folded her arms across her chest quickly as she nodded.

"We should get some together sometime!"

"That'd be great!" '_not'_ Hinata added, in her mind obviously. Thankfully, the ride of hell was over and Hinata practically bounced off of the elevator, hearing Itachi quickly behind her as he began discussing plans and how much fun things were going to be now that they were in the same office, and _oh! _they just _have_ to exchange numbers too!

The last thing Hinata needed was a random sext on her cellphone, thankyouverymuch.

"Where's office seven?" Hinata asked the elderly secretary. She pointed down the hallway, and Hinata thanked her, following her finger down to the last hallway.

"Let's do lunch sometime, okay?" Itachi threw in as Hinata stood in front of the oak door, annoyed that Itachi was still here when she was about to meet her new coworker and the job she'd be attending for the next year-or-half. She was suddenly taken by anxiety, Itachi's presence not helping her.

"Sure." She said weakly, swallowing her fears and opening the door hesitantly. Before she could even admire the quality of the open office, she was immediately pelted lightly by small crumpled up pieces of paper.

"What the hell are you doing!?"

She could feel herself being pushed lightly as Sasuke stomped into the room, fuming.

Her coworker looked _ridiculous_.

Hinata would've laughed if she weren't seething already for being attacked by a series of paper balls. Seriously, _blonde_ hair!? Ino was half _French_ for Christ's sake so it was okay, but he had legit _yellow_ hair. His eyes were the biggest and brightest shade of blue, making him look more like a kid, though he acted like one. And were those _whiskers_ on his cheeks?!

Getting out from behind his desk with arms filled with paper balls, he flung them at Sasuke.

"It's a welcoming party! Welcome, new coworker!" Naruto sang, pelting all three bystanders in the room. Itachi easily flicked off each one that came at him, Sasuke chased after him as he ran by the printer, and Hinata merely took in all the hits with a mean scowl on her face.

'_Fuck this. I think I might actually take up Itachi's offer.'_ Hinata glanced behind her at Itachi, who was too busy staring at her ass to notice. _'I take that back.'_

She felt her hand unexpectedly being grabbed as a face pushed close to hers, causing her to lean back a little.

"Hi, Hina-chan! I'm Naruto Uzumaki and I'm going to be your new coworker!" Naruto excitedly shook her hand without giving her a chance to speak. "We're going to be working great with each other this year, I can feel it! I'm pretty sure we'll become really good friends too!"

Hinata opened her mouth as her frown began to set but he beat it to her once more. "Just so you know, I always work at a generally slow pace and I prefer to do work together instead of separately to save time, you know? I don't get how people can work quickly without making any mistakes!"

'_Holy shit, what's he smoking?'_ Hinata thought to herself sarcastically as he finally dropped her hand, giving her a hug instead. "It'll be so much fun!"

'_Oh hell no.'_

Sasuke reached out to snatch Naruto away, but Hinata easily pushed him off, much to both Uchihas' surprise.

"First of all, my name will be Hyuuga-san to you_, _not _Hina-chan_. We are not friends, we are merely coworkers." Hinata spoke icily, keeping the tone that got her the infamous "Heartless Hinata" nickname. Laced with venom and fueled with a condescending tone, Hinata continued. "I expect this project to be done as early as possible because like most people, I am a very busy person. I don't tolerate any kind of slack on your part, and you can expect that you will get none from me. If you take forever on a single assignment, I will merely proceed with my part of the job without you. I expect that this office will be kept as clean as it is now and let this be a warning to you: If anything is lying on the ground, I will either chuck it out the window or it goes down the garbage chute. Perhaps you hold no value to time or respect to other people's lives, but I can assure you, I do not tolerate childish tomfoolery in this office so long as I'm around."

Itachi gave a low impressed whistle as Sasuke and Naruto stared at her, dumb-struck.

She marched right past his surprised form as she went behind her desk, easily sliding into her chair and taking out all the picture frames she had meant to put on her desk as well as her laptop to get ready for work, all the while the same scowl on her face. She glanced at the floor before returning to her welcome screen. "And please remember to pick up this mess that you so, ahem, _creatively_ made, Uzumaki-san." She stared at him directly in the eye before she gave him one of her cracked grins, giving the perfect final touch of her _'I don't take shit.'_ speech. "I look forward to working with you, Uzumaki-san."

'_Hinata: 1, Naruto: 0."_ Hinata thought triumphantly as she refused to allow her victory dance or grin show up on her pink lips.

"Well, looks like you got everything under control here, Hinata." Sasuke smiled at her, thoroughly impressed. He dragged a protesting Itachi out of the door frame with a smirk on his face directed to Naruto as they left.

Naruto returned to his desk, leaving the paper balls on the ground to study Hinata Hyuuga with his new curiosity, the grin on his face widening.

Her hair was twisted up into a neat bun on top of the crown of her head, pieces of indigo hair framing her angelic face as she scowled for no reason at the computer screen, brows heavily set in concentration and lips slightly parted in what seemed to be annoyance.

The angel that lived right next door to him…was his _coworker_!

He thought it was only a dream when she saw his cerulean princess walk through that door, but when he saw Itachi talking to her, he knew it was a reality. He was absolutely _thrilled._ Sure it would take time to get around her edges, but…he saw something inside of her that wasn't there in any other woman he's ever met before.

Her razor-sharp tongue and attitude were just a façade; even _he_ could see through that. Behind all that anger was a beautiful, pained girl that needed something.

Naruto grinned to himself as he watched her quietly shrug out of her jacket, revealing a wet brown stain on her blouse. Memories flitted past through Naruto's mind, but he was genuinely pleased that fate worked this way for him.

"Hyuuga-san," Naruto began as formally as possible. She looked up at him in pure irritation, as if he had actually disrupted her from something even though the pile of papers that had to get done was still on his desk.

"Yes?"

"While you weren't here, Sasuke and I took the liberty of separating the papers of everything necessary for the merge together. It's all mainly statistical reports and of that kind, but everything done by Konoha Corporation will be done by you, while I take care of ANBU and Uchiha Weapons and Defense for that matter."

Hinata's face warmed for a split moment in what seemed to be a genuinely _pleased_ expression before it returned to her cold demeanor. She easily got up, holding her head up high. "Very well. I will take them and begin working on them right away."

Naruto watched as she crossed the distance between them, watching her eye the pile of papers on the desk and picking up the stack before she glanced the third pile. His eyes fell down her chest at the large stain, nearly bursting out into laughter. Thankfully, the devil in heels didn't notice.

"And what is this pile on?" She asked suspiciously.

"Those are all the merge papers that are going to be needed after our reports and cross-checking are complete." Naruto informed, trying his hardest not to smile or laugh. Hinata nodded before she turned on her heel, walking back to her desk.

"One more thing, Hyuuga-san."

Hinata looked up, indifferent. "Yes?"

"Would you prefer wearing my blazer or your coat?" Naruto asked, fighting off the urge to break out into fits of laughter as he tried to keep his poker face on to the best extent.

Her nose crinkled in distaste as she narrowed her pale eyes. "Ex_cuse_ me?"

"I said, _would you prefer wearing my blazer or your coat_?" Naruto repeated, slower, testing each word that he directed to Hinata on his tongue.

Her scowl deepened as she began to glower at him, eyes narrowing into slits. "What did I just tell you about not tolerating-"

"Well, I'm not sure if you are aware of this, but there is a large coffee stain that is currently inhibiting the fabric on your blouse. That is a very lovely black frilly bra, by the way. Latest in Victoria Secret, am I correct?"

Naruto just _had_ to throw that in. He didn't bother smothering his smug grin as he watched her suspicious expression immediately morph into pure shock, her mouth hanging wide open before she recovered, turning it into simply _seething_ with rage. Her face began to turn crimson as garbled words came out of her mouth, eyes narrowed into mere slits. Her arms folded over her chest quickly. "Why! You…you…I…what…_ugh_!"

She immediately bent over into her desk, snatching out another blouse that she must have kept handy. Mouth hardening into a grim line and eyes wide with rage, she got up abruptly, stomping out of the room quickly and giving Naruto the dirtiest look he had ever seen a woman hold.

He shot out of his seat as the door slammed loudly behind her, breaking out into his victory dance as he laughed loudly at his stunt, bending over to clutch his stomach while tears streamed down his face.

"_Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned."_

_Naruto:1, Hinata: 1_

Let the games begin.

* * *

WELL there you have it folks! Thanks to everybody that reviewed in the last chapter :D I appreciate them :D Please remember that **when I get more reviews, I get more happier, and when I'm happier, I tend to update faster.**So pretty please, if you want another chapter soon, REVIEW!


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto Shippuden, nor the song "You Don't know You're Beautiful"**

**Special shoutout to: Katsumi Hatake, Kilalahinanaruto555, TheLoverOfMusic, "Hiccup," Okazaki323, "Guest," XpurplegurlX, Jackieruffles, the Composcreator, "coolman," "1rst2," kika04, AirmanLance, and Zurcior. **

**Thanks so much for reviewing, you guys! I love you :P **

* * *

"The _nerve _of that _bastard_!" Hinata sneered lecherously to herself as she began undoing the buttons of her blouse furiously with trembling hands, somewhat amazed that none of the tiny buttons flew off in her fit of rage. Standing in front of the mirror in the empty, clean and immaculate women's bathroom, Hinata fumed about her villain of a coworker as she crumpled up the stained cloth and began sliding into the crimson silk blouse that she kept spare.

Hinata had only heard great and infallible things when she found out about Naruto Uzumaki: How he was able to defeat _the_ business tycoon of the world, Madara Uchiha, with the help of his rogue best friend (Sasuke) and only his namesake. But sadly enough, Hinata was never informed of the ADHD-positive, lunatic, cheeky and arrogant idiot that also went by that name.

She frowned at her reflection in the mirror. If she remembered correctly, Sasuke told her that "he's a friendly guy." Or at least something along those lines.

She understood entirely that they were now at silently waged war of who-can-piss-off-the-other-most kind of thing. However, giving in to his childish pleasure of fighting back would only satisfy him and only further piss her off. Hinata chewed on her lip, brows furrowing into deep concentration as she began contemplating her options. Let's just _say_, theoretically of course, that Hinata wanted to fight back?

The consequences ranged from losing her job and Naruto's dead body mysteriously found in the Swiss Alps.

She sighed, forcing herself to recognize the only _possible_ solution: Cooperation. Sure, they didn't have to be friends but as long as they worked together, everything would be fine, right?

"So truce it is, Uzumaki." Hinata sighed disappointedly as she pushed open the door of the bathroom.

* * *

Naruto's grin was still evident when he saw Hinata march back into the room, sporting a new crimson top that didn't have a single wrinkle despite it was trapped in that drawer for who knows how long. Instead of avoiding his eye-contact and pulling those plump lips into a hard line, she met his gaze along with a smile on her face.

Naruto nearly fell out of his chair.

Kami, did she _have_ to be so _beautiful_!?

It didn't take much for him to realize that Hinata probably had some sort of scheme cooking up in that pretty head of hers…it was so obvious; even natural at this point considering the fact he just totally _owned_ her a couple of minutes ago. The way she smiled at him was entirely fake, but still beautiful. Red lips were pulled back to reveal pearly white even teeth.

'_Damn, she's got a nice smile.'_ Naruto thought automatically. He regained himself quickly as she took gentle strides up to his desk and cocked her head lightly, almost acting like one of those stupid blondes.

"I suppose we can _both_ agree when I say that we started off on the wrong foot, Uzumaki-san." She said with a forced smile on her face.

Ah, her voice. It was coated to be all buttery and sweet, but hey, even pretty things can be evil: Acid and venom was right underneath, he just needed to scrape off the icing.

"I guess you can say that…" Naruto shrugged non-chalantly, pretending to find the invisible piece of lint on his bright shirt to be more interesting than what his angel was saying.

"Well, I think we should do that over. After all, we'll be working together for the next couple of months." She sighed as she reluctantly fingered her shirt.

'_Years, actually. Don't think I'll let you go so easily, Princess.'_ Naruto thought as he grinned in approval. "Yeah, I guess we should. My name is Hinata Hyuuga. You can call me Hinata-chan if you'd like."

Hinata gave a closed-eyed smile as she brought her small palm out to him. An evil idea hatched into his mind as he firmly took it and grasped it, feeling her soft hand in his somewhat calloused ones.

"Naruto Uzumaki. It's a pleasure to meet you."

* * *

Hinata opened her eyes as she scanned his face suspiciously (without showing it, of course) for any signs of fakeness. When none were evident, her grin slowly became genuine.

"It's great to meet you. Let's make these couple of months count, now shall we?" She retracted her hand, silently reminding herself to disinfect it with her cherry-blossom scented moisturizing hand sanitizer she had waiting on her desk patiently.

"Same here. And yes, we shall." Naruto affirmed with one last side-grin. Hinata turned around on her heel, her glued on smile dropping once and for all. Plopping back into her chair and with the silent hum of her laptop working away, Hinata invested herself in deep concentration to get this thing done and over with so she wouldn't have to see her idiot of a coworker ever again.

* * *

Naruto pretended to be filling out papers. Emphasis on the _pretended_, mind you. What he was really doing was secretly studying Hinata as her face took on a new expression that looked tired. Agitated, perhaps, with the way the corners of her lips were slumping downward as pale eyes behind large-rimmed designer glasses flitted from her computer screen to the papers she held out like a fan before her, a teal painted nail pressed against the papers as she looked on both at the same time.

She was like a little librarian.

Naruto wanted to chuckle at the thought of Hinata sitting behind a desk like a receptionist and carrying piles of books, but he kept it to himself as he continued. Cocking his head lightly, he couldn't help but _try_ to imagine her without the glasses. A small, silent sigh of frustration was let out when he realized he couldn't imagine her without them on.

'_There's so much I need to find out.'_ Naruto vowed to himself quietly as he finally tried to pay attention to the disgustingly huge pile of papers before him. He stole one last glance at Hinata before forcefully indulging himself into his responsibilities.

* * *

Pure silence.

_That_ was one of the benefits of working with people, Hinata concluded. Of course, she had _no_ intentions on carrying any sort of relationship of any kind with Naruto, and hopefully, she also scared him into thinking the same about her.

The greatest thing about silence between two people-coworkers, in this sense- was that it wasn't awkward. There wasn't invisible tension on her like there was at home, just the low hum of her laptop, a few scratching sounds from the opposite side of the room where Naruto was writing something, and the occasional knock from Sasuke as he checked up on Hinata. Silence was something that she always loved. It was a moment where no one was screaming at each other for doing this, or crying and wailing loudly because of that, or worse, gushing over stupid boys.

Hinata frowned lightly when Ino's image came to mind. Pushing it away and focusing it on work, Hinata could tell that what happened between her and Ino today was just another episode resulting from her lack of commitment and the fact that she hadn't taken her ADD pills.

There were only thirty minutes on the clock until her lunch break; she could meet up with Kiba and Ino at the small café across the street. Pulling out her iPhone adeptly, she quickly sent a text:

_Heyy. If u both wanna be completely forgiven, meet up w/ me the café 4 lunch. Kiba's treating :P_

_XOXO-Hina_

Satisfied with her plans for later, a small smirk caressed her features as she quickly stole a glance at her blonde coworker. He looked kind of funny with his lips pursed together in complete concentration as his forehead creased in concentration.

Somewhat pleased with the fact that her new coworker was working, Hinata smiled a bit. Perhaps working with him wasn't going to be _that_ bad after all.

* * *

Thirty minutes passed rather tortuously for Naruto. He spent the entire time playing tic-tac-toe against himself; his golden rule was, after all, "play first, work later."

As soon as the clock struck twelve, Naruto was slightly startled as he watched Hinata pick herself up immediately and walk right out of the room without a second glance at Naruto. Arching a brow while confused, Sasuke entered the room, brow furrowed and his vein was popping.

"I just saw Hinata storm out of here as if her life depended on it. What did you do!?" He asked brusquely, eyes narrowing in suspicion. Naruto blinked at him twice before a Cheshire cat grin spread across his face. "I complimented her before."

"Oh Kami, on what!?"

"Her very lovely bra."

Sasuke's jaw dropped as he stared at Naruto, grinning like the idiot he was in his pedestal, in disbelief. "Please tell me you didn't mean that."

"I mean everything that I say, Teme." Naruto began spinning himself around as Sasuke stalked him with a murderous intent set in his mind.

"Stop being an ass to her, Naruto!" Sasuke growled, his fists clenching.

"I'm not being an ass, you ass! I'm being _myself_!" Naruto shot back hotly, sticking out his tongue at him despite the fact that he was twenty six.

"Kami, please don't make her quit, Naruto. I seriously _need_ her for this job!" Sasuke groaned, rubbing his forehead. Naruto merely shrugged, pouting. "Ouch, Sasuke, you make it sound like _I'm_ the root cause of her problems."

A small pause was inserted in their conversation as realization dawned to him as Sasuke glared at him lecherously. "Just get your jobs done, and then you can piss her off all you can."

"Oh, who said I wasn't going to do it today?" Naruto offered a mysterious grin as Sasuke's eyed widened and backed out of the room.

* * *

"Forgive me, oh Hinata Hyuuga-sama, Goddess of intelligence and of what all is good in this Kami-forsaken world…" Kiba repeated Hinata's exact words as he let out a long sigh. "Am I forgiven now?"

Hinata crossed her arms over her chest as she grinned smugly, Ino clapping and giggling. "Dance, my little monkey!"

"I'm _not_ dancing." He said immediately, shooting a look of daggers at her, immediately shutting the now-pouting blonde. Turning to Hinata, he gave her a weary look. "Are we cool now?" He asked impatiently.

"I'll think about it after you pay for lunch." Hinata shrugged simply as she took a sip of her water. Kiba let out another, loud groan. "Aw, _man_. Oh, by the way, I met this really cute chick today!"

"Really?" Ino's nose crinkled. "Who?"

"Her name is Matsuri-"

"The divorcee with the two kids?" Even Hinata had to smirk as she remembered faintly the woman. It was a battle over custody; she won, naturally. "She's one of my clients."

"Well, yeah, I got her number!" Kiba grinned victoriously. "I'm taking her out to _Rouge_ tonight." He boasted.

"Oh, fancy French place?" Ino cocked her head. "I think that's where my blind date is happening tonight. _If _my cousin doesn't scare him off."

"Ew, Temari's like thirty. What the hell's she doing cougaring on your dates?" Kiba asked, eyebrow twitching. Ino rolled her eyes dramatically. "She still thinks she's like twenty on the inside. It so blows that she's bunking with me for like, the next two years."

"Wonderful, so looks like you two are ditching me again…" Hinata grumbled to herself. Her friends looked up at her before exchanging a guilty look.

"So grab your new coworker and we can make it a triple date." Kiba said confidently as if it were the most ingenious idea in the world.

"How _is_ your new coworker? Cute? Fun? Awesome?" Ino asked excitedly as she bounced on her cushiony seat. Hinata ground her teeth. Really? _Him_?!

"He's the most annoying thing to walk on this planet." She said icily. Her friends' faces spread into huge grins as she angrily stabbed at her salad.

"Oh, _do_ continue." Kiba asked, leaning onto his elbows as a haughty look fixated over him.

"The idiot decides to throw me a welcome party via hurling paper balls at me. Which he _still_ hasn't picked up." Hinata frowned. "On top of that, he's immature, really loud and obnoxious, and you wouldn't _believe _what he said to me."

"That you have a stick really high up your ass?" Ino bit her lip to stop herself from bursting into a fit of laughter as Kiba high-fived her. Hinata glared at them and chewed with a bit more force than necessary.

"He complimented me, alright. On my _bra_."

Ino's mouth dropped into a perfect "o" as Kiba's upper lip rose lightly to signal his disbelief.

"You showed him your bra?" He asked stupidly. Ino and Hinata simultaneously reached over the table to hit him on both sides of the face.

"You're an idiot." Ino rolled her eyes, taking another sip of her energy drink since she was so fixated on dieting though she was stick-thin already.

"Shut up, you anorexic whore." Kiba shot back, grumbling as he dodged a flying fist.

Hinata sighed, twirling the remains of her salad around her fork while her friends continued to bicker inside the small cafe. It was almost time for her to get back to work, and then…_ugh_, she would have to get back home. She seriously needed to move on out of there. She made perfectly good money, there was no reason to not do so.

"I have to get back to work now." Hinata announced, getting up and throwing down a twenty onto the table. "Thanks for coming guys. I just really needed to vent that out."

"No prob. I'm still walking with you to the subway, right?" Kiba asked. Hinata nodded, affirming. "Yeah. I'll see you guys when this hellish day is over."

* * *

Naruto looked at the clock once more. His beautiful little coworker had been working diligently for about a good three hours non-stop now.

She only had thirty minutes until she could escape the building, unbeknownst to her that she wasn't going anywhere without the storm. She may have thought that they were all good now, but oh ho, she was _so wrong_!

He wagered a war on her that he intended on winning, and he frankly couldn't help it if his Hinata wasn't in the mood to put up with him. Besides, it was time.

And did he have the most _perfect_ plan for her. A devilish smile unconsciously tugged his lips as he quickly forced it back into his poker face, making sure his iPod was connected to his iHome, which he took the liberty of setting up while she escaped for a bathroom break.

"Hey, Hinata-chan?" Naruto called out softly from his desk. Hinata looked up at him, bored. "Yes?"

"I was wondering, since we'd like to get to know each other a bit more, how would you like to do dinner?"

* * *

Hinata's brow arched higher than before. Another Itachi, now was it? Pushing her glasses higher up her button nose, she narrowed her gaze at him. "I'm sorry. I don't normally go out-"

"Oh, no, I wasn't talking about going out. How about I come over tonight and have dinner with your family?" Naruto butted in tersely, a grin on his face as he tried to hide his smirk.

'_Oh, hell no_.' Hinata thought venomously as her mouth opened, ready to push out the hateful spew of words that were tumbling through her mind.

"I'll even bring my family with me! Trust me, you'll be in for a surprise." Naruto winked at her as he got out of his chair to lean onto her desk, almost touching her face. This was thoroughly invading her personal bubble.

"Excuse me, but are you-"

"Dinner at seven then? Perfect." Naruto turned onto his heel before he whirled back. "Oh wait, make that eight, I'm a busy person, you know."

"Wait just a minute-" Hinata got up, fists clenching as her tiny nostrils began to flare in anger.

"Wh-at?! I've got places to go!" Naruto said impatiently as he stood by the doorframe, a hand planted sassily on his hip as he glared at her, nearly throwing her off.

'_Bipolar much!?'_ Hinata thought bitterly. "Don't you dare think for a moment-"

Naruto's finger pushed against her lips roughly. "Shh, it's okay. I'll behave myself in front of your family. By the way, I wanted to tell you something."

Hinata's mouth hardened into a line as she realized that their war was in fact, _not_ over, and that this was only the calm before the storm. "What?"

Hinata regretted asking that when she saw Naruto's grin widen mischievously and magically produce a remote that connected to his iHome. Pressing play, loud obnoxious boy-band music blasted as he mouthed the lyrics to her.

"_Baby you light up my world like nobody else,"_

"Oh, _fuck_ no..." Hinata groaned as she hastily grabbed her stuff, recognizing the annoying song that he was mouthing ridiculously. _To her! _Throwing her coat over her arm and shoving her laptop into her bag, Hinata began making her break for the door.

As she tried to make an escape, Naruto grabbed onto her wrist, dramatically pulling her into his arm-lock. This time, he even sang, swinging her body with his, much to her utter confusion and shock. More like screamed than singing, _right into her ear_.

"_The way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed!"_

Hinata easily wriggled out of his grip, reaching for the door as she desperately left, realizing that Naruto was actually _following _her.

"_But when you smile at the ground it ain't hard to tell!"_

Oh, Kami, he was so off key! Picking up her pace and constantly watching him sing to her despite the fact that the music was still on in their office, she felt her face go crimson as the people of the lobby room of her floor curiously glance up at the sight of Naruto Uzumaki _chasing_ after Hinata, singing songs that teenage girls would be enjoying.

She reached for the elevator, her only gateway to heaven, pressing the button repetitively and horrified by the idea of Naruto Uzumaki following her and singing to her for twenty one other floors. The doors opened, Hinata thanking the stars that it was empty as she slid into the booth and frantically pushed the button to shut the doors and-oh my Kami, he was _running to her_!

"Go away!" Hinata shouted desperately, watching him shout the last of the terribly sung lyrics to her as the doors closed on him.

"_You don't kno-o-ow! You don't know you're beautiful!"_

Hinata let out a deep sigh of relief as she slumped against the wall, the soft piano music soothing her trembling heart.

All of a sudden, home didn't seem so bad.

* * *

Naruto threw his head back and chortled his way back to his office despite the weird stares he was receiving. Tears leaked out of his eyes as he pulled the plug on his iHome. He'd have to make One Direction his new ringtone if he _truly_ wanted to play games with Hinata.

He had no doubt in his mind that dinner at the Hyuugas would actually seem casual in comparison to what he just pulled. Whipping out his Blackberry, he quickly dialed the home number to Jiraiya's apartment.

"_Hello?"_

"Oy, Pervy-sensei, guess what! We're going out for dinner!"

"_Oh cool, what are we eating?"_

"Whatever the Hyuugas are making for us."

_Naruto: 3, Hinata: 1_

* * *

I legit thought of this idea in the middle of AP Spanish and nearly laughed while writing my essay. It's just so perfect!

Nonetheless, you should review, 'cause I really love those :D


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto Shippuden!

**Shout out to: geoqueen51198, Kilalahinanaruto555, "GD12," "Guest," "Hiccup," orange12, TheLoverOfMusic, Zurcior, kika04, Hyoyeon, Katsumi Hatake, kally-kal, AirmanLance, NaruGirl12, and Arasia**

**Thanks for the positive awesome reviews! Promise me you'll keep them going, huh?**

**Mini rant: I am perfectly aware that it is possible to be an Asian and have Christian faith. I never denied the existence before! And since a lot of people are PMing me and annoying me, I've been driven to the point and telling you: The Christian faith that Hinata and her family follow in comparison to Hanaka's Shinto faith serves as another thing that sets them apart. Now seriously, stop bothering me**

**Anways, enjoy the chapter :D**

* * *

"Kiba, _please_. I need you tonight." Hinata begged desperately, her voice nearly cracking as she latched herself onto Kiba's free arm. The other one was carrying his very professional looking briefcase which probably held nothing but sports magazines and pornos. He rolled his eyes before complaining, "Aren't you being a bit melodramatic?"

"No! Do you know what he did when I was trying to leave!? He went all stupid-British-boy-band on me!" Hinata cried, gripping Kiba's arm tighter. As she spoke, small breaths of fog escaped her lips, mixing into the very light layer of smog that perfumed the city at sunset with car exhaust and pollution. Kiba actually stopped in the middle of the semi-busy side-walk to give her a look of pure jubilance. "He _sang_ to you!?"

"Yes! And he wasn't even good at it!" Hinata whined. "I need you to come over and have dinner with my family and his tonight."

"But I have a date…" Kiba reminded her dejectedly. "I can't cancel on Matsuri! Besides, I don't even know where you live…"

"So you'd do anything for this girl who you don't even know but you'd cancel in on your best friend _and_ miss the opportunity to see my house for the very first time!?" Hinata's persuasiveness was very unsuccessful as Kiba easily shook her off.

"Please, Kiba? Ino lives two houses away from me so I think she'll be able to make it too!" Hinata lied this time. There was _hell_ no way Ino would skip out on a blind date for the sake of some stupid family dinner that would somehow relieve sexual tensions.

"No." Kiba replied flatly. She could sense that this conversation was going nowhere, so she drew out her trump card. Hinata began to pout. "But _Kiba-kun…_"

She made puppy dog eyes as she looked up at him with the look of pure innocence as her already-high-pitched voice drawled out into something that crossed the border of pure naivety and childlike.

"Oh, Kami, Hinata…" Kiba groaned exasperatedly. "Not that!"

Her lower lip began to tremble as she bowed her head. "I-it's fine, Kiba-kun, there's no reason for you to suffer…"

"Kami, Hinata, you _suck_!" Kiba grumbled, throwing his hands up in exasperation as they finally reached the subway platform. He whipped out his cellphone, punching furiously at the buttons.

"What are you doing?" Hinata asked as her face scrunched up in curiosity, trying to look over his shoulder. He easily blocked, snapping his phone shut and giving her a stern glare. "Cancelling my date. Text me your address tonight."

Hinata's smile was genuine as Kiba merely smirked at her, a signal that meant he was plotting something. "But you have to let me gang up with Naruto on you for revenge."

* * *

"Your business partner is coming to dinner?" Hiashi asked, as cold and emotionless as his nickname. His tone was icy, his demeanor as stern as always. Hinata nodded meekly, bowing her head so her bangs could shield her eyes to some extent.

Her father sat gracefully in his home office/library room behind a large mahogany desk, indifferent face illuminated by nothing other than the generous yellow glow of a single lamp. He had his glasses that made him look like an own sitting on the bridge of his nose as he scanned over his eldest daughter in distaste.

"Had it not occurred to you that we're too busy to be inviting guests over?" Hiashi asked acidly. Hinata nodded, swallowing the rock that had lodged itself into Hinata's throat.

"I apologize deeply, Father. My coworker was brash enough to invite himself and his family over as a way of getting to know me better. As a buffer and ice-breaker, I invited Kiba Inuzuka as well." She explained weakly. Hiashi's gaze hardened.

"Why are you indulging yourself in relationships when you should be focused on your work?"

Hinata wanted to exhale deeply in frustration. She looked at Neji pleadingly, who was sitting in the smaller version of her father's desk pushed at the side of the room. He nodded and jumped into the conversation immediately.

"Father, perhaps this will be another business associate that will provide some sort of opportunities and advantages to the Hyuuga name." Neji offered. "Hinata-chan, what did you say was the name of your coworker?"

"Naruto Uzumaki." Hinata replied. Hiashi's face took on an astonished demeanor as both male Hyuugas blinked in surprise.

"Your coworker is Naruto Uzumaki?" Hiashi questioned, his interest now piqued. Hinata felt her face flush as she nodded.

"Why was I not informed that you were working with him?" Hiashi asked again, this time his brows furrowing in anger.

'_Because I thought you didn't care.'_ Hinata thought bitterly, but said otherwise. "I only found out today."

Neji rolled his eyes at the apparent lie as he returned to his files. Both siblings-by-law averted their attention back to the eldest Hyuuga as Hiashi stood up, revealing his full height while staring straight on. "I shall cook tonight. What time are they arriving?"

"Eight." Hinata replied automatically. Hiashi nodded thoughtfully. "Very well. Hinata, you will go get groceries. I believe Hanaka has prepared a list."

"I'll go with you." Neji got up as well, ready to leave before Hiashi stopped him. "No. You and Hanabi will be needed here. Hinata, please go immediately before the store closes."

'_The store is open 24/7. I didn't expect you to know that, though.'_ Hinata nodded as she scurried out of the room, only to come face-to-face with none other than Hanaka. She gulped, knowing that Hanaka already had a scheme planned out in her head as the shriveled woman gave her a grin that should've been reserved for Halloween before slapping a sticky note with incomprehensible chicken scratch that spelled out the ingredients for tonight's dinner.

* * *

Hanaka's spirits were high as she opened up the telephone book to the dateline service. She knew the Inuzuka boy all too well; much too shaggy and dog-like for her tastes. As for this Naruto person…well, they would just have to see, right? Punching in the number, she frowned at the seven rings before the other person spoke.

"_Konoha dateline services, how may we help you?"_ The suave voice of the female operator spoke.

"Yes hi, I need a pure Japanese boy." Hanaka fiddled with the wire with a long bony finger.

"_When?"_

"Right now. I don't care what he's like; just make sure he's rich for my twenty-six year old granddaughter." Hanaka spoke, eyeing the empty street outside of their house.

"_I'm sorry, but the least amount of time we can give for a request is two weeks…" _

"I will _not_ take no for an answer." Hanaka snapped harshly. "Get it done!"

Hanaka slammed the phone down, thinking that her request would be wished.

On the other side, the poor receptionist merely sighed and rubbed her temples wearily as she placed the phone on the receiver. Honestly, if the old lady thought she was getting _anything_ tonight, she might as well call her back to tell her '_hell no.'_

* * *

Ino admired herself in the mirror as she put the finishing touches to her light make-up. Wearing her hair down and pushing her bang behind her ear, pink glossed lips turned into a smile as she did one last look-over. She was wearing a fancy blue gown that matched her eyes, while wrapping a white shawl around her to protect her from the oncoming cold.

"You look like a grandma." A voice snorted behind her. Ino rolled her eyes as she met Temari, leaning casually in the doorway. The well beyond thirty year old woman had her hair up, for some unfathomable reason, in four well-made pigtails. Her arms were crossed over a very tight white tank top that showed a bit too much cleavage and tummy, while her long legs were barely covered by the shorts that Ino would've mistaken for underwear any other day.

"I look _modest._" Ino replied hotly as she began sifting through shoes. Temari grinned at her. "You would've looked _so_ much better in the outfit that I picked out for you."

"First of all, I'm going to a fancy French restaurant, not some rave for teenage prostitutes." Ino snorted un-lady like as Temari's grin faltered. "_This_ is the reason why my friends have never seen you before; I'm too embarrassed."

* * *

When Hinata came home later with both arms occupied with large grocery bags, she was rather surprised when the door opened for her. Scrunching her face in confusion, she stepped inside only to be face-to-face with the man that she currently despised the most.

"_You!?_ What are you doing here!?" Hinata exclaimed in a low voice as she glared icily at the blonde that was inhibiting the doorway. Naruto was wearing a pink frilly apron that obviously belonged to Hanabi that covered his outfit that comprised of a fitted tangerine thermal hoodie and a pair of olive green cargo pants. He was running around in a pair of socks as well, which must have meant that he had no problem getting comfortable in the house.

"Aw man, it's only you." Naruto rolled his eyes as if disappointed. "Everybody! Groceries are here!" Naruto called out behind him, twirling flamboyantly as he met Hinata's glare with child-like excitement, ignoring her question and gliding on the hardwood floor to the kitchen.

Hinata's mouth hardened when she began taking off her flats, noticing the pair of worn out high top converse next to a pair of ballet flats and loafers.

So that was only three people to entertain. Two, if one considered Uzumaki an animal like she did. Grinning lightly at the thought, she stalked off into the kitchen. Her mouth nearly dropped open with what she saw: Her father, _the _Hiashi Hyuuga, had his brows furrowed in complete concentration as he stirred a pot of boiling pasta slowly at the stove, a bead of sweat at his brow as Naruto was doling out instructions on how to cook. Next to him, Neji had his hair tied up into his low ponytail as he constantly was wiping tears from the onions he was cutting, while Hanabi was settled happily onto a counter, swinging her legs off of the edge. Hanaka was nowhere in sight, which obviously meant something bad was about to happen.

"I'll take that, thank you very much!" Naruto chided giddily, waking her up from her shock as he snatched one of the bags out of her arms and began whistling to himself.

"Naruto, are you sure it's supposed to be steaming this much?" Hiashi asked worriedly, his brows knitted together as he turned from the stove. Naruto merely nodded. "Of course Hiashi-san! Don't worry, as long as I'm in the house, everything will be great!"

Wait, wait, wait…did her father just go on a _first name basis_ with her stupid coworker?!

"Hey, Hinata! Stop being useless and help us out or something!" Naruto feigned anger as he whizzed past her to flick her on the forehead. She glared at his retreating form as he danced back to the stove, stirring another pot of who-knows-what.

"Yeah, cut these unions if you wanna…" Neji called out weakly, rubbing his reddened eyes. Hinata quickly scurried over to take Neji's arm, her mouth mashed into a hard line as she looked up at him intensely. "Can we talk privately?"

Naruto quickly tapped Hiashi on the shoulder, beckoning to the door. "Can you leave for a moment?"

Naruto then leaned into Neji's and Hinata's bubble, brows furrowed seriously and hands planted on his hips. "What is it that we need to talk about?"

Hinata's eyes flashed anger as she forced on a smile, dragging Neji into the living room. "What the hell is he-"

"Hinata! Meet Kushina-san and Jiraiya-san!" Neji butted in, whirling her around to meet the occupants on the couch. "Kushina-san is Naruto-san's mother, and Jiraiya-san is his godfather! They're our new neighbors!"

Hinata's mouth would've dropped open at the idea of merely sharing the same _street_ as her incomprehensible coworker. However, before she could even utter a word, she was cut off by the dazzling fiery-haired woman who was dressed in a plain green dress that ended at her ankles and a long sleeve shirt underneath.

"It's so lovely to meet you." Kushina got up, smiling at her as she embraced Hinata. "Oh, you're so pretty! I hope my idiot son isn't giving you any trouble!"

"Well, now that you're asking-" Hinata began, giving back the same smile before she was whisked away again.

"Hinata nee-san! Look at what I got!" Hanabi excitedly cut in as she extended her wrist, a small chain with an apple dangling off of it.

"Wow, really cute!" Hinata said, sarcastically enough for her family members to pick up on. "And who gave it to you?"

"Naruto-kun!" Hanabi sang, settling in between Kushina and Jiraiya to talk some more as she twirled her bracelet happily. Hinata shook her head before stomping back into the kitchen, finding that Neji returned to the post of cutting unions while her father stirred continuously.

'_They act as if he's the greatest thing in the world.'_ Hinata thought disgustedly as she glared at the blonde who was stirring both pots now and who easily wrapped her entire family around his stupid finger. Her father actually _smiled_ at him.

"Hinata, go help Naruto. It's rude to leave our guest cooking for us." Hiashi passed her a stern glare as he breezed past her to the living room to join the others. Hinata rolled her eyes but did as told, sliding next to Naruto and stirring.

"Hey, taste this!" Naruto shoved a spoon into Hinata's mouth randomly, the burning liquid hot on her tongue. Her upper lip curled up as she quickly shook her head. "Too bitter."

"Oh, just like you." Naruto laughed at his joke, high-fiving Neji in the process as he turned off the stove. Hinata quickly followed in suit, angrily stalking him as he went to wander about the house aimlessly.

She tapped his shoulder a bit too roughly, watching as he yelped and clutched his heart dramatically when he stumbled across the dark corridor. "Stop following me, woman! I'm trying to explore your house!"

"It's rude to do that!" Hinata hissed at him, planting her hands on her hips ominously as she blocked the entrance to the stairs.

"Well, it's rude that you're not letting me! Haven't you ever heard of, _'the guest is always right!?'" _

Hinata's face took one of confusion as she was caught off guard. Naruto pursed his lips and squinted as if deep in thought before turning around on his heel and then skipping into her fathers' study. Hinata found him flipping through files while settled comfortably in her father's chair.

"Hey, who are all these people?" He wondered aloud as he began going through confidential files. Hinata yanked them away from him sneering at him through clenched teeth, "How _dare_ you! Those are private!"

"Well no wonder. I mean like I'd keep it quiet it too if my business was _sooo sloooow_." Naruto spun himself around in Hiashi's chair, Hinata hovering over him lecherously. He shot out of the seat randomly as he dashed out the room, Hinata jogging after him despite the unspoken rule of _'no running in the house.'_

Honestly, you would expect adults to have a _bit _less energy than that.

* * *

Kiba looked at the address one last time Hinata fed him and looked out the window of the taxi. The houses were _huge_, unlike his single very fancy flat. The driver stopped in front of a house, which Kiba automatically presumed to be Hinata's.

"Thanks for the ride. Keep the change." Kiba said confidently as he pulled himself out of the car, a bouquet of flowers for the hard-core family. Nervously adjusting his tie, he stepped to the door and rang a bell.

In the distance, about two houses away where the Hyuugas actually lived, a young man stepped out of his taxi, ready for his blind date.

* * *

"Teen rave? Please, I dress the way men want to see girls!" Temari scoffed heavily as she plopped down on Ino's bed, swinging her hips largely as she moved. Ino rolled her eyes.

"Temari, how old are you?"

"Depends on how old you _think_ I look." Temari replied cheekily, flipping through teen fashion magazines on her bed now.

Ino rolled her eyes as she pulled on her heels, her heartbeat quickening excitedly as she heard the doorbell ring.

"I'll get it!" Temari called out gleefully, her magazine forgotten as she got up excitedly and jogged over to the door, earning another eye-roll from Ino.

"Whatever."

* * *

'_Where the hell is Kiba…?'_ Hinata thought to herself. She wanted to sneak a glance at the iPhone that was settled in her pocket, but her father just _had_ to be sitting right next to her. She sat in between Naruto and her father, on one side, while Kushina, Hanaka and Jiraiya sat on the other. Hanabi and Neji were on the ends of the table, Neji conversing with Jiraiya and Kushina while Hanabi was invested with a chopstick fight with Naruto playfully, giggling all the while.

"I hope you all like my American-style-ramen!" Naruto announced, slurping his noodles messily. Hanabi giggled childishly as she mimicked him. Hinata could feel her heartbeat quicken as her father's face turned stoic while Kushina frowned at her son across the table.

"So, Naruto-san, what brings you to Konoha anyways?" Hiashi asked, taking a sip of his water.

Naruto stopped his obnoxious slurping for a moment to look up. "Work, mainly. Sasuke-teme needed me so desperately to work on the merge thingy."

Hiashi nodded thoughtfully. Hinata was able to see that her father wasn't accustomed to his immaturity.

"What else?" Hinata asked as nicely as she could, though her grip on her chopsticks was near breaking.

"Oh, to get married." Naruto grinned. He placed his chopsticks on the table. "Actually, Hiashi-san, I was wondering if I could marry your daughter."

"_What?!"_ Both Hinata and Hanaka yelled at the same time, Hanaka out of glee and Hinata out of horror. Hiashi arched a brow, unamused, while Neji and Hanabi were trying hard not to laugh. Naruto scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Do you _mind_? I'm talking about my sweetheart, Hanabi! Hanabi, will you marry me?"

"No!" Hanabi giggled, furiously shaking her head.

"Please?!" Naruto feigned desperation as he got down on his knees, holding Hanabi's hand.

"No!"

"_No! No!"_ Hinata mimicked Hanabi's whiny tone childishly, earning a deep scowl from her father.

"Control yourself, Hinata." He warned sternly. Hinata merely brushed him off, picking at the spaghetti noodles in miso soup.

"Aw it's okay, Hiashi-san! But tell me, is her face always like this or is it just me?" Naruto leaned on one hand as he stared right at Hinata's face, a smug grin on his expression. Hinata glared at him as Neji responded for him.

"Oh, she's always like this."

"Yeah, nee-san isn't any fun." Hanabi poked her tongue out at Hinata as Naruto nodded, agreeing whole-heartedly. "Yeah, I had a feeling. It must be a childhood problem."

"Naruto!" Kushina barked in a dangerous tone, her vein popping ominously. "You better behave yourself!"

"Aww, 'kaa-chan, don't be mad! I'm just having fun with the children!" Naruto smiled angelically at his mother as an arm captured both sisters' shoulders.

Jiraiya sighed. "I apologize, Hiashi-san. First, my godson insists that he ruin your kitchen and appetites and now he's disrespecting your daughters…"

Hiashi opened his mouth to protest, but Hanaka beat him to it. "A couple of spankings during childhood would've fixed that problem." She affirmed with her eyes closed, the slightest, subtlest hint of a smirk on her thin lips.

Hinata snorted indignantly, for once, siding with her grandmother.

* * *

Temari pushed up her cleavage so whoever Ino's mysterious blind date was would never forget the beautiful, dazzling woman that opened the door for her.

Putting on her best smile and flirtatious look, she opened the door, her grin dropping immediately.

* * *

"Um, hi." Kiba said awkwardly, trying to make sense of the situation as the woman that stood before him looked at him as if he had a third head. Hinata didn't have another sister, did she? But then again, she never really told Kiba about her life unless he asked…

Maybe Hiashi-san got remarried. Kiba inwardly snorted, realizing that the woman standing before him couldn't be older than thirty-five at maximum, so what the heck would she be doing with an old fart like Hiashi? Wait, what if that was Naruto's sister or something?! She had the blonde hair, and it _was_ questionably spiked up…

Her grin came back on, slowly and seductively, as she cocked her head to the side, leaning to Kiba to give him a good glimpse of her cleavage.

'_Oh Kami, don't look, don't look, don't look, don't look…'_ Kiba prayed to himself as he felt the heat rush to his cheeks and further feelings of awkwardness entered him. He tried his hardest to keep his gaze on her eyes, but it was proven difficult since she was waving her assets _right_ in his face.

Kiba scratched the back of his head. "Um, is-"

"You're at the right place, honey." She spoke huskily, smiling flirtatiously as she grabbed him by the arm. "Don't just _stand_ there! Come on in, warm yourself up!"

"Thank you." Kiba muttered as she dragged him in before turning to the large staircase and shouting. "Hey! Piggy! He's here!"

"Piggy?" Kiba questioned, holding up his hand to stop the words. The woman nodded again, planting a hand on a protruded hip as she leaned forward.

"Oh, right! We call her that at home." She grinned at him devilishly as she led him to the sofa, where, much to Kiba's horror, the lights were already dimmed and aromatic candles were lit.

Holy shit, she was a fucking walking aphrodisiac!

Kiba sat down, stiffening when she sat down on the cushion next to him, his hand _very _close to her bottom. He snatched it away and began focusing on the cute portraits of Ino and Hinata on the coffee table.

Maybe the Uzumaki family hadn't arrived yet…? Where the hell was everyone!? And who was this freak!?

"You look very nice, by the way. Are you related to her?" Kiba asked absentmindedly, hoping to break the silence that she was attempting to create. Temari rolled her eyes, playfully batting her lashes at him.

"Aw, you're too cute! I'm her cousin!"

* * *

The doorbell rang in the middle of desert, Hanaka suspiciously shooting out of her chair to get it. Hinata and Neji exchanged a quizzical look at they watched on curiously as she disappeared into the corridor.

As Hanaka opened the door, expecting the dateline services' offering, she was greeted by a man loosening his tie uncomfortably as he stood stiffly in a suit donning flowers for the occasion.

"You're late!" Hanaka hissed as she scanned him head to toe. A ponytail that defied gravity was on the crown of his head, a bored expression on his face. It pulled into a frown as he let out a small groan.

"And I thought I was taking out someone my age. And for your information, I'm on time." He said, his eyes narrowing the slightest as Hanaka finally led him in.

"What's your name?" Hanaka asked, watching disapprovingly as he took off his shoes.

"Shikamaru Nara." He replied back, finally looking back up at her. "Wait, why am I taking off my shoes? Why did you lie on your profile?"

"Stupid boy, you're taking out my granddaughter!" Hanaka hissed, half-whispering and half growling. Shikamaru merely shrugged as he buried his hands in his pockets. "Then where is she?"

"Having dinner with the rest of the family." Hanaka snapped at him, leading him in.

* * *

"C-cousin?" Kiba frantically pulled through his mind files on Hinata's family. She had only one uncle but he died! And there was no possible way that a blonde could've been the offspring of two raven-haired people. It was just impossible.

"You're _so_ silly!" Temari giggled before she leaned over him, pressing a button on a remote to play sensual music. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her head against his fluttering chest.

"So tell me," She began playing with his tie, slowly tracing it up to his neck as she began caressing his cheek. "What about you?"

Kiba gulped.

* * *

Hinata was clearing off the table of the dishes, getting ready to wash them as the idiot of the Uzumaki family (otherwise known as Naruto) was entertaining both her family and his in the living room. Pushing her hair up into a ponytail, she frowned and narrowed pale eyes as she picked up Naruto's messy plate, realizing that there was a smiley face made out of random vegetables he refused to eat.

'_Idiot.'_ Hinata swore as she shook her head dumping the remaining food in the garbage.

"Hina-chan! There's somebody here for you!"

Hinata deadpanned. The fact that her grandmother just _sang_ that meant that something was wrong. She turned around slowly, in case if the element of surprise came.

And hell yeah it did.

* * *

"Um," Kiba began awkwardly, pushing Temari's fingers away as she moved a cushion away. "I live with my sister in an apartment…"

"Apartment…" Temari breathed heavily as she scooted closer to him. Lust radiated from her gaze and Kiba could already feel the knife of trauma laugh sinisterly as it began tracing cuts on his brain.

"My mummy owns Inuzuka Industries…" Kiba could feel his voice shaking, noticing as Temari followed him to the next cushion over. He gulped. Not much couch-cushion left to scoot over upon.

"Industries…" Temari breathed out, her chest heaving heavily. Kiba swallowed the rising bile in his throat, feeling extremely violated.

"And I'm the next-"

"Oh, stop with this talk!" Temari cried out dramatically as she threw her body onto Kiba's, hugging him entirely. "Let's just skip to the-"

"Bathroom!" Kiba sprang up immediately, causing Temari to crash onto the floor.

* * *

"Shikamaru-kun?" Hinata's mouth dropped open in a mixture of confusion and horror.

"Ah, so it looks like you two know each other already! Perfect!" A feral grin pulled at Hanaka's lips as she flitted past the two dumb-struck acquaintances and followed the sound of laughter from the living room.

"Hinata-chan?" Shikamaru shot back weakly as realization dawned onto him. "H-holy crap…"

"I don't mean to sound rude or blunt when I say this…but what the _hell_ are you doing in my house?" Hinata's brows pulled together.

"Well, um, I'm guessing we were supposed to be on a date…" Shikamaru laughed sheepishly.

"Oh, _Kami_…"Hinata let out a large groan as she ran a hand through her hair. Hanaka was obviously the mastermind behind this. "I'm so sorry, Shikamaru-kun, I had no idea…"

"Hina-chan!" Naruto sang-songed as he returned waving around empty bowls of ice-cream. "I have a present for-oh, who's your friend?"

Seriously, bad timing much? Hinata let out another groan. "Naruto, go back to the-"

Shikamaru arched a brow as his bored confusion quickly contorted into mild amusement when Naruto pushed a finger to his face.

"Who are you?" Naruto asked inquisitively, squinting at him. "Oh, wait! You must be Kiba Inuzuka!"

"Kiba?" Shikamaru's face pinched into confusion before his mouth dropped accusingly at Hinata. "You're seeing _Kiba_!?"

* * *

"Okay, so her so-called-cousin is a bit crazy. Then again, her entire family is insane. She's normal. Sort of. Everything will be okay." Kiba muttered to himself as he splashed cold water on his face, not caring if the water droplets that he furiously threw about were splotching his tie with dark spots.

"Hey…" A soft voice said behind him.

"_Ahh_!" Kiba screamed as he jumped back, receiving the same scream from the companion standing in the doorway. He whirled around, both of the faces of the bathroom-goers frowning in confusion.

"Ino?"

"Yes?"

"Where am I?"

"My house."

* * *

"I get it now! You think that _you're_ too good for me, isn't that it!?" Shikamaru fumed at Hinata accusingly. She looked at him, her mouth hardening as other faces from the living room peered into the kitchen to hear the commotion. "Shikamaru, what the hell are you-"

"You're with Kiba, aren't you!?" Shikamaru shot back loudly, the bouquet of flowers quickly being strangled by his grasp. Her eyes went wide as he slammed them down harshly to the ground. "I knew it! The reason why you pretended as if you didn't know was because you already _have_ a boyfriend!"

"Hinata, you are dating the Inuzuka boy?" Hiashi's threatening and overprotective tone was completely unnecessary as Kushina attempted to get everybody back into the living room. Sadly, Neji was recording the fight with his phone, Hinata and Naruto were watching as if the fight was a soap opera, Jiraiya was writing stuff down in his notepad that he reserved for ideas for his books, and Hanaka was fuming to call the dateline for a refund though she never actually paid for their services.

"No!" Hinata cried out to her father. She turned to Shikamaru, her voice raising though she was still making sense out of the situation. "Shikamaru, I am not-"

"I don't wanna hear it, Hinata!" Shikamaru threw his hands up in the air. "I can't believe that _you_ would do something as lowly as blaming your grandma for all of this!"

Several pairs of eyes fell on the old woman accusingly, who forgot her moment of rage and put on an innocent face, raising her hands up in defense. "I was framed!"

Hinata rolled her eyes, reaching out to grab Shikamaru's arm. "Look, let's talk-"

"I refuse, since you're clearly _too good_ for me, right?!" Shikamaru glared at he as he turned on his heel. Hinata followed after him. "Wait!"

* * *

"Oh, Kami, you've got to get the hell out of here!" Ino groaned loudly. "What if my blind date comes? He says that he gets jealous extremely easily!"

"I agree!" Kiba nodded. Ino lead him out of the living room, only to get cut short of Temari.

"And where do you think _you're_ going, big boy?" Temari winked seductively and ominously at Kiba, the two friends shuddering in unison.

"Oh, _gross_! Temari, you…you…_whore_!" Ino moaned. "You thought he was my blind date and tried to _seduce _ him!? Gee, thanks!"

"_Whore_!? Who was the one who had the gall to make out with that fat, pathetic excuse of a human?!" Temari planted her hands on her hips as she glared back at Ino with equal malice. Kiba tried to back out of it, but Ino kept a firm grip on his arm. He gulped desperately, seeing his life quickly play out before him.

"Chouji isn't fat! He's big boned!" Ino protested. "Kiba, did she try to seduce you?!"

"Well, um…" He offered intelligibly. Temari grabbed his other arm, yanking him back.

"No! Tell her that's she's an anorexic little granny!"

And so, the tug-of-war using Kiba as a rope ensued, the two blondes at each other's throats with insults.

"Bitch!"

"Slut!"

"Ugly!"

"Old!"

Kiba could feel a migraine coming as his adrenaline finally kicked in, breaking out of both of their grasps. He could hear little angels singing as he bolted down the wood hallway to the door, hearing the two girls follow after him. He grabbed his shoes, not bothering to put them on, but just as his hand touched the frigid metal of the doorknob, he was yanked back.

"_Prove her wrong!"_ Either girl shrieked into her ear.

'_Noooooooo!'_ Kiba's inner mind cried.

* * *

"Would you let me explain!?" Hinata pleaded as she followed Shikamaru as he practically stomped his way to the door, Naruto trailing after the indigo-haired princess with Neji's phone so he could catch all the action.

"No! Hinata, you really hurt me." Shikamaru turned on his heel. "I can't believe how disappointed I am in you."

"What do you mean _disappointed_?! We had _nothing_ in the first place! This is just a gigantic fucking misunderstanding!" Hinata screamed back, near pulling her hair out in frustration.

"Language!" Hiashi's voice snapped at her from back at the living room. Ignoring it, she watched as Shikamaru took a hold of her shoulders.

"You ruined all chances of us ever happening, Hinata." He said solemnly.

What the-was he tearing up!?

Hinata could only stand there with the biggest _what-the-hell _expression on her face as Shikamaru pulled on his shoes dramatically and stomped out of the house.

* * *

Kiba had a rule: Never hit girls.

However, he would have to change that to: _Never hit girls unless they are attacking you viciously and are endangering your life_.

So with a swift, fluid motion, Kiba smacked his palm against both girls' arms, causing them to let out a small streak of colorful words as they recoiled.

'_Victory!'_ Kiba thought, feeling his heart soar as he ran down the cemented stairs to the only available cab in the middle of the road.

Two hands touched the handle of the cab at the same time, both in a frantic rush.

"Shikamaru, I'd ask what you're doing here, but I just need to get the hell out!" Kiba yelled out desperately, watching the two relative come out of the house, crying out pleads to wait, causing the rush to go all the more worse.

"Same here! Let's go!" Shikamaru yelled back, looking over his shoulder to find Hinata and Naruto tumbling out of the house.

They let out a small girlish scream as they pushed themselves into the backseat. The driver turned to them lazily.

"Where are you-"

"Just drive! Go, go, go!" Kiba yelled out. The driver immediately stepped on the gas, speeding off, leaving too many people confused to register what the hell just happened in the past ten minutes.

* * *

Haha, i had SO much fun writing this chapter! Lol, as many of you people guessed, dinner was an EXTREME disaster. Remember to drop a review!

Also, i'm going to be a bit busy so updates probably wont be as fast as i hoped they would be.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto Shippuden!**

**Hey guys! Look who's back! I have this entire summer dedicated to working on this fic, so lets do this!**

**Thanks to: GD12, It'sMontastic, MissWorded, Hime-Love-97, "Guest," Meck Viking, kika04, Ookami88, "Hiccup," goNxH, Zurcior, Airman Lance, Blaze Release, BP, Love Omeral, TheLoverofMusic, "l3oPaRd," and "Guest" for reviewing chapter 5, and then Katsumi Hatake, Kilalahinanaruto555, Zurcior, Airman Lance, kika04, "Hiccup," TheLoverOfMusic, Leon The Bulletproof, "Guest," Master Solo, for reviewing my authors note XD**

** Airman Lance and MissWorded: Thanks for the constructive criticism! I'll try to change things up a bit.**

**Thank you all for your support! I love you guys!**

* * *

"I hate him so much." Hinata spat out acidly through clenched teeth, kneading the stress ball with a bit _too _much force. Kurenai Yuhi cocked her head lightly, crossing her pencil-skirted legs and clasping hands together from her familiar spot across the loveseat in a comfy armchair as she studied her patient thoughtfully.

She was not only the social psychologist for Kiba, Chouji and Hinata during their college years, but her PhD in clinical psychology as well as being Hinata's mentor was what made Hiashi believe that she was the best person for Hinata to go to for discussing her feelings.

"Hate is a strong word, Hina-chan." The red-eyed beauty reminded gently, balancing the pencil on her fingers as she made a note. Hinata pouted, pretending the rubber ball was Naruto's head before impulsively clamping it in between her fingers. The blue amorphous solid spilled out from in between the gaps her slender digits had to offer.

Kurenai smiled at her warmheartedly. "Are you thinking of him right now?"

Hinata nodded, her bangs bouncing lightly. "I don't understand! He's actually a year older than me, and yet he acts like a child! He's immature, loud, obnoxious, rude as hell, nosy, and he can't sit still for five minutes!"

Her agitation grew with every second she thought of him, anger boiling inside of her veins. She clenched her jaws tighter, releasing and then repeating. Her anger was duly noted as Kurenai scribbled another note on her pad. "Have you tried approaching him nicely?"

"Oh, _trust me_, I did!" Hinata scowled. "I went up to him and told him that since we got off the wrong foot, we should start over. So I think that everything's okay until he deemed it appropriate to sing songs to me that Hanabi would normally listen to!"

Kurenai bit her lip to prevent herself from laughing. "I see…"

"I don't know _what_ to do now!" Hinata cried out finally, slamming the ball onto the carpeted floor as she got up and stomped on it with a high-heeled shoe. Kurenai nodded as she watched her patient vent and fume and release the pent up anger and frustration of the past week, wearily glancing at the clock.

"Hinata," Kurenai began calmly, leaning across the coffee table to put a hand on Hinata's shoulder. She looked up, her face red and trembling in irritation.

"Have you ever thought of the deal when little boys would pull on girls' pigtails?" Kurenai asked as she retracted, taking a sip out of the expresso Hinata bought her.

"Are you saying that he _likes_ me?" Hinata's nose scrunched up in obvious disgust. Kurenai shook her head, grinning to herself behind the cup. "Of course not. I'm saying that perhaps he just wants attention. You _did_ say that he came from a hot-shot job, am I correct? He's accustomed to having people fawn over him, so putting him in a setting where for once he isn't receiving that attention, he'll only try to pursue it."

"But that means I'd be satisfying his undying need for me to play pranks on him and to act like an imbecile!" Hinata reasoned, grabbing a hold of her own hair.

"Don't judge a book by its cover, Hina-chan," Kurenai warned. "You don't know his intentions, I don't know his intentions…it doesn't hurt to have a little bit of fun, does it? Try to take advantage of the opportunity he's giving you."

Hinata sighed dejectedly. "I don't think I can do that."

"Yes, you can. I've known you long enough to know that you can wrestle foxes at this point." Kurenai encouraged, earning a small beam from Hinata.

Perhaps…perhaps she _could_ use the wonderful opportunities for revenge Naruto's offering to her. Perhaps she could get even with him, and once that's over, they could work together as quickly as possible and ultimately end their task quickly. One step closer to her prized position at Hyuuga Firms.

"Thanks, Kurenai-sensei." Hinata grinned at her, hugging her before grabbing her clutch. Perhaps she could thank Naruto for the next couple of months, because she was going to get him back _so_ bad.

_After_ she thought of some sinister plans.

* * *

"Beautiful." Kushina sighed happily, gazing at the glossy printed digital photo in reminiscence. Naruto was on his way to the door when his mother spoke to no one in particular. He casually leaned over her shoulder to see the wedding photos that was taken a few years back: A twenty four year old tuxedoed Naruto had a pink haired woman under his arm, grinning at the camera stupidly while she clung to his neck as if he would disappear any second. Her green eyes sparkled in obvious joy, a tiara and veil both on her head. Her ball gown billowed outwards in long ruffles; something that looks liked it belonged in a fairytale.

"Who, me?" Naruto joked, tracing the edges of the photo, ready for impact. Kushina side-slapped her son playfully as she giggled. "No! I mean Sakura-chan."

Naruto's smile faltered slightly as he looked at the photo, taking the glossy edges into his own hands. "Yeah, I guess she doesn't look _that_ bad."

"Naruto!" Kushina slapped her son upside the head again.

"Ow-w! 'Kaa-chan! I was just kidding!" Naruto whined loudly, rubbing the new small lump throbbing hotly on his skull. Kushina sighed dramatically as she ruffled her son's hair. "I sometimes wonder where I went wrong."

"Hey, I'm not _that_ bad!" Naruto grinned in his defense. Kushina smiled warmly at him, stroking his blonde locks before stopping immediately, fingers weaved at the back of his head, her crystal blue eyes meeting Naruto's. A solemn expression graced her features as she looked up at her only son. "Are you going to see her today?" She asked hesitantly.

Naruto's grin faltered into a small smile as he wrapped an arm around his mother, noticing the pained and worried look in her eyes. He nodded, mustering a look of reassurance for her with a boisterous grin. "Yeah. Everything will be okay, 'kaa-chan. Don't you worry."

Kushina stifled an argument, wrapping her son into an embrace and mumbling in response.

* * *

"Last night _sucked." Those were the first words that tumbled out of Hinata's mouth as she slid into the booth bench across from Kiba, avoiding his lost-puppy look like the plague and focusing on her blonde counterpart._

"Story of my life. Why do I feel like I haven't seen you in like, forever?" Ino mused loudly as her lunch buddies all took their spots. Today, Hinata didn't catch with either of her friends since she had an appointment with the shrink before work.

"Because the series of unfortunate events have deemed it so." Hinata offered a small grin, giving her a quick hug. "How was your blind date?"

"The bastard never showed up." Ino spat out, fists clenching. "Like seriously, I spent _so_ long getting ready to be taken out by my mysterious courtier and he leaves me hanging!"

"What an idiot." Hinata chimed, nodding as she stole a sip of Ino's water. Kiba's sulking grew a slight bit more noticeable.

"And how was _your_ night, _Kiba_, seeing that you _obviously_ had something far more important to attend to." Hinata met his molten moping look with hard edged ice as she tilted her head lightly, brows pulling together and crossing her arms and legs, imitating a look that Hiashi often used.

"Well, I was on my way to one of my best friends' house for a dinner that I canceled a date for when the stupid taxi driver dropped me off at the wrong house, where I was unlawfully seduced by a teenager in a thirty year old body, then came face to face with none other than our charming Ino here before I was used as a play toy for tug of war." Kiba said casually, finally regaining his sense of male dignity and fighting for his pride. Hinata arched a brow. "You went over to Ino's?"

"Mishap." Both Ino and Kiba said together. Hinata rolled her eyes before reaching over to lightly hit Kiba in the head. "You idiot. Didn't you check the address I texted you?"

"I did!" Kiba whined. "But the driver dropped me off at the wrong house!"

"I'm not going to argue this anymore. You owe me, Kiba Inuzuka." Hinata decided finally as she gave her order to the waiter.

"How was the dinner? I hope nothing too catastrophic…" Kiba asked, trying to shrug off the blame. Hinata nearly cracked up. "Please. My family plus Naruto's? Catastrophe is inevitable."

"So what happened? Did a gigantic food fight occur?" Ino asked excitedly, hopeful for some gossip.

"No, but I have come to conclusion that the only sane member of my family is none other than myself." Hinata announced conclusively. "I came back from grocery shopping and Naruto and his family are already there. It was absolutely the weirdest experience of my life. I stepped into the kitchen, and I see _Naruto_ ordering around Neji and my dad on how to cook. _Obaa-san'_s like, nowhere to be found so she's obviously plotting something evil, which I'll get to later, and Hanabi's happy-high because Naruto got her this bracelet thing."

"So your entire family is pretty much in love with Naruto." Ino paraphrased, nodding. "Go on."

"Yeah, pretty much. Anyways, the idiot decides to go snooping around my house before I made him stop, and then he deems it appropriate to propose to my sister in front of the entire dinner table before claiming that I had a childhood problem." Hinata said grimly, remembering to scold Hanabi thoroughly for paying attention to the idiot.

Kiba spat out his soda in shock before choking. "He proposed to Hanabi!?"

"Jokingly, obviously, but he actually _tried_ to make himself look stupid, as if his face isn't enough to prove it. So after dessert, everybody's chilling in the living room except for me, and you would _never_ believe who my grandma invited over to my house." Hinata rolled her eyes, remembering she still had an apology note to fill out to Shikamaru before anything.

"Who!?" Ino asked, bouncing in her seat.

"Shikamaru Nara."

Both jaws of her friends dropped open. Hinata nodded and shrugged non-chalantly. "Yeah, and it gets better."

"Shikamaru Nara was supposed to be _my_ date!" Ino cried out, interrupting. Hinata blinked twice before realization dawned onto her.

"Holy crap, my grandma stole your date!"

"Oh my Kami, this _sucks_!" Ino moaned, burying her head in her lap. "I lost my man to some shriveled up _prune_!"

Kiba patted her arm affectionately.

"Oh no, everything makes sense now…he thought _I_ was his blind date and that's what got him so worked up last night!" Hinata sighed, now deciding to buy lunch for Shikamaru to discuss the entire misunderstanding.

"Wait, he got worked up? Why!?" Ino grasped onto Hinata's arm, a worrisome expression on her face.

"Because he was under the impression that our lovely sour-faced Hina-chan here was dating a man by the name of Kiba Inuzuka."

All three heads turned none other to find Naruto standing before the table, a stupid grin on his face as he lightly nudged over Kiba.

"Hey, scoot your boot! Hello lovely lady, hello man!" Naruto flashed an Emmy-award winning grin at the two of them, winking at Hinata. She glared back at him. Kiba, confused, obliged as he slid down further on the seat.

"Why, hello there! Are you one of Hinata's other friends?" Ino asked interestedly. Before Naruto could open his mouth, Hinata beat him to it. "Oh, no, he's my _coworker_."

"Yes, lovely to see you too, Specsy." Naruto winked at her from across the table. Ino giggled. "So _you're_ the Naruto that Hinata keeps on talking about."

'_Specsy?!'_ Hinata thought hotly. '_Really!? Naming me over my glasses?!'_

"Oh, Specsy, I'm flattered! I never thought that I would reserve a place in conversations!"

"Don't get cute with me," Hinata warned through clenched teeth, gripping the glass of water and fighting the urge to hurl it at him. "And you're late as hell! Where were you this morning?!"

"Aw, my Specsy missed me! I'm sorry, but I had a date!" Naruto cooed from across the table. Hinata instinctively slammed her foot down on his, burying the heel into the leather. Naruto gasped and kicked back at her, missing, and stubbing his toe on the leg of the bench instead.

"You _moron! _ Do you know how much work I had to do? By the end of the day, Sasuke's expecting a progress report that actually _has_ progress!" Hinata sneered at him, a growing pain in her left shin. Naruto waved it off. "Yeah, yeah, Sasu-chan's got a stick up his butt-hole. Lemme take care of it."

"And lose my job? No thanks." Hinata scoffed, leaning back in her seat as the waiter brought their orders. Naruto easily stole an olive off of her salad, earning a glare from Hinata as he told the waiter his own order. He then turned to her friends. "I don't expect Specsy here to be nice and introduce me to you, so I'll do it myself! I'm Naruto Uzumaki!"

"I'm Ino Yamanaka." Ino offered a manicured hand, grinning all the while. Naruto took a hold of it, kissing it delicately. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Ino turned a vibrant shade of pink as she began to bounce excitedly again, a sign that she was resisting the urge to squeal and throw her arms across his neck.

"I'm Kiba Inuzuka." Kiba waved to him. Naruto's hands cupped his cheeks. "So _you're_ Kiba! Tell me, what's it like having a sourpuss as a girlfriend?"

"We're _not_ dating!" Hinata objected loudly. Naruto looked at her before rolling his eyes. "Sure you aren't. The video of last night says otherwise."

"Neji _sent_ it to you?" Hinata's vein popped as she closed her eyes, trying to calm her quick anger. Naruto nodded, whipping out his phone. "Yeah, and I have to admit, I'm a pretty damn awesome camera-man! I mean look! I didn't have shaky hands or anything!"

"Video? What video?" Kiba asked curiously as he looked at the screen.

"Don't show them the video!" Hinata shrilled, reaching over for the phone that he was offering to them both. Naruto easily snatched it out of her grasp, shaking his finger similar to the way a mother would scold her child. "Nuh-uh-uh, Specs. No can do."

Hinata sat back in her seat, stabbing at her salad furiously as she began muttering profanities under her breath. Naruto offered the phone to either occupants of the table, who easily took the phone out of his grasp and commenced watching.

Bile rose up in Hinata's stomach as she ground her teeth together in annoyance and frustration.

"I'll be back at work if you need me." Hinata spat out finally, folding up some bills and slamming it down on the table hard enough to nearly knock over Ino's glass of water.

"Wait, Hina-chan!" Kiba cried out, reaching for her, but she was already out the door. The three people looked at the spot where she was momentarily.

"Now I feel kind of bad." Naruto admitted sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. Kiba exhaled sharply as he shook his head. "Aw man, she's mad at us as is…"

"Hina-chan gets worked up over small things." Ino reminded, playing with her food. "Don't worry; I'm her best friend. She just needs to cool off for a bit, then we'll talk to her."

"I'll talk to her, instead. After all, I _am_ the reason for it." Naruto said boisterously, grinning at them. He threw down his business card. "We should all hang out together one day. Yes, Specsy included."

"Sure thing. It was cool meeting you." Kiba waved. Ino nodded as they watched him leave after her.

The two sat together as a small, casual silence filled the void. Ino was the first to speak.

"I think she likes him."

Kiba nearly choked, shocked at Ino's words. "What?! Are you kidding me? She wants to chop his balls off and then shove them down his throat!"

"But _look_ at her," Ino insisted seriously. "Have you seen Hinata have so much…_feeling_ in her? Sure the guy drives her up the wall…but she's acting human again."

Kiba took in Ino's words, chewing with a bit force. "Hinata's not like that."

* * *

Hinata was seeing red everywhere when she returned back to her office. Sasuke was the first to notice, seeing that his two lawyers were missing, so he went to investigate the empty office for clues when he was startled by Hinata stomping into the room.

"Hina-chan? Everything okay?" Sasuke asked, worry creasing his face. Hinata threw her handbag down with force, plopping into her chair. She forced on a smile. "Oh, yeah, it's just _dandy_."

Sasuke arched a brow, frowning. "Take a day off."

"No, I can do my work, Sasuke-kun," Hinata sighed, wearily popping aspirin for the beginnings of a headache.

"That wasn't a suggestion. Hinata, you look as if you've been through hell and back and it's barely three in the afternoon." Sasuke crossed his arms over his chest. "Do yourself a favor. Get yourself home, change into your pajamas, grab a bowl of popcorn, and have a movie marathon."

Hinata looked at him skeptically. He shrugged when he noticed the faintest hints of a smile on her face. "Hey, it works for me and the wife. It'll definitely work for you."

"Thanks, Sasuke-kun," Hinata smiled at him. "I'll just finish up the progress report for you and I'll take you up on that offer."

Sasuke nodded affirmatively. "Oh, well if that's the case, you don't have to worry about it. Naruto already filled it out and it's in my office as we speak."

Hinata blinked twice at him. "Wait, it's _done_?"

Sasuke nodded. "Though he doesn't seem like it, Naruto is very serious about his work. He isn't…giving you any problems, is he?"

Hinata rolled her eyes. "If I said that he wasn't, I'd be lying."

"Yeah, I heard about the dinner fiasco." Sasuke nodded. Her mouth dropped open. "He told you!?"

"Oh, no, Neji sent me the video yesterday." Sasuke waved around his phone, giving her meaningful look.

"That bastard." Hinata muttered as she snuggled into her chair.

"Naruto's not that bad. He happens to have this problem-"

"ADD?"

"No."

"AD_H_D?"

"No.

"Annoying syndrome?"

"Good guess, but no. He tries to make friends in the weirdest ways possible as an ice breaker. That's how he gets closer to them." Sasuke informed her meaningfully. Hinata nodded, taking in his words. "How did you two become so close?"

"I hated him at first, actually," Sasuke looked to the ceiling in thought. "We were considered rivals, but he broke the tension when we accidentally kissed each other at random when we were in elementary school."

Hinata's mouth dropped open at the thought of Sasuke and Naruto locking lips. "Oh, gross, really bad mental image…" She groaned, shaking her head.

Sasuke grinned at her, messing her hair up lightly. "Yeah, so don't worry about him being creepy and weird. He's just trying to find the friend in you."

"Thanks for the advice, Sasuke-kun." Hinata looked up at her laptop. "I really appreciate it."

"No prob. But don't speak of the kiss to anybody, got it?" Sasuke made her promise. She smiled at him once more, feeling much better.

-Until a certain blonde came in and her mood plummeted faster than the rate at which atomic bombs exploded at.

Sasuke, sensing the tension between the two, patted Hinata's head once more, bumped fists with Naruto before taking his leave.

Hinata remained stone-faced as she glared at the screen angrily, typing with superfluous strength she her eyes darted from screen to the pages before her.

* * *

Naruto eased himself into his chair, studying Hinata closely as he watched her type away angrily on her laptop. He couldn't help but think that her patience was lower than her fathers, and her mannerism was similar to his as well...stoic, cold, and bitterly angry. But then again, things like patience were rarely found in cities.

Cities were meant to be full of life, to keep people entertained and selfish. To make people feel amazed about the gigantic skyscrapers and the museums with well-known artists within walking distance, but only tourists could see that side of the city. If there was one thing that Naruto hated about the city…it was the rush.

People rushed to get their coffee's, to get to work, to catch a cab, to leave work, to go to the store, everything. Everybody is so busy with their own lives, they forget about the others. The result is a bunch of tired people dragging their caffeine-fueled bodies from one place to another, living lives shallowly.

Cities taught people like Hinata how to hitch a taxi, or the best vendors to go to for gyros and other foreign foods.

Cities taught people how to stick to a schedule, how to be tied down. They taught to not feel sympathy for the poor, and to regard the rich with envy and scorn.

But never does a city teach a girl how to love.

So Naruto continued to observe Hinata as she let out her pent up anger on her keyboard, and Naruto can't help but feel sorry for her.

Pushing buttons and pulling strings is just a bad habit of his, but…there's something different about her. He sees something in her eyes that can't be found in other people's eyes.

They are brave, for hiding her emotions, but devastatingly afraid for what the future holds for her. Dinner last night? He wanted to see what she was like at home. Well that and he wanted to annoy her.

"Hey," Naruto called out from his desk softly, immersing himself out of his thoughts.

Hinata didn't answer, instead focusing on her work instead.

"Hey." Naruto said a bit louder. Her mouth hardened into a line, but she ignored him.

"Hey!" Naruto yells from across the room.

Hinata slammed her palms against her desk. "What?!"

Naruto leans back into his chair satisfied he had a response, a shit eating grin on his face. "I just wanted to say _hi_."

Hinata groaned, nearly slamming her head against the wall as she shut her laptop. "Good evening."

"What? You're leaving so soon?!" Naruto looks at her with puppy-dog eyes, but she doesn't spare him a glance. Naruto gets up, effectively blocking her path. "We have work to do!"

"Well you should have thought of that before you pissed me off, huh!?" Hinata glared at him icily. "I'm leaving now, so move out of the way."

"No can do, princess. Not until you see this." Naruto reaches into his back pocket to pull out his phone, pulling up a video.

Hinata scoffed as she stared at Naruto with contempt, eyes falling on to the thumbnail into the screen. Her inner self boils at the frozen image of her and Shikamaru.

"_Don't even bother_." Hinata said dangerously. "I have to go home now, so if you would please…"

"Please?! It's so funny!" Naruto whined, grabbing her coat sleeve to prevent her from stepping even further to her escape.

Hinata snatched her coat sleeve back as her mouth dropped open in disbelief. "_Funny_!? You think that this shit is _funny_?!"

Naruto's grin only provoked her furthermore. "Struck a chord, now haven't I?"

She clenched her teeth as she stood planted on the ground, her superfluous anger getting the best of her. "You think this is all a joke, don't you!? You think it's hysterical to watch other people suffer, because you've clearly got your entire life on the easy side, right?! You're my _coworker_ and my _neighbor_, for Christ's sake! Can't you act like one?!"

"Okay!" Naruto replied cheerily as he stood in front of her, knocking on an imaginary door. "Knock knock! Now you open the door, yes, hello hi, may I have a cup of sugar?"

"…What?" Hinata asked, forgetting her moment of anger to stare at Naruto in confusion. He shrugged, but kept his hands cupped out in front of her.

"Well you said to act like a neighbor, so, that cup of sugar, if you may?"

Hinata's mouth hardened into a line. "Ha ha. So funny." She retorted sarcastically, glaring at him with all the hatred her body could muster.

"Yes, very." Naruto's grin reappeared. Hinata jabbed a finger at his chest, narrowing her eyes at him.

"You know what your problem is?! You think that you know me and my life just because we're neighbors and coworkers. Well, I've got news for you! My family and I are genuinely not interested, so you can take that happy go lucky attitude of yours and shove it-"

"Shut your mouth." Naruto interrupted abruptly. Not _'shut up,'_ but shut your mouth .Hinata inhaled sharply, startled by the sudden outburst.

His face was close to hers, his brows heavily pulled together into a light frown as he looked directly into Hinata's eyes. She could feel a slight blush of embarrassment creeping up, but remained silent.

"Can you just _smile_?"

She had never seen his face without of a smile, but now that she thought of it…he looked better with one. His brows were knitted deeply, his blue eyes hardened as they glared down at Hinata. But the way he glared at her wasn't in disgust or hatred…it was the kind of stern that a parent used against their kids, when they jokingly pretended to be angry with her. Behind the ice of his eyes, she could still see the flicker of playfulness.

Naruto clucked his tongue, rolling his eyes. "Oh dear, it looks like she's forgotten! Tell you what, I'll teach you how to smile. See? It's easy!"

Hinata felt his fingers at the corners of her lips, unaware of what to make of the situation as they pulled upwards.

"One, two, _cheese!"_ His fingers pulled up the edges of her mouth harshly. "And again, one, two, che-"

"Don't touch me!" Hinata shrieked, slapping his hands away from her. He groaned loudly, throwing his hands up in the air exasperatedly. "Oh, you were _so_ close, Specsy!"

Hinata's jaw clenched as she went neck-to-neck against him, raising an accusing finger at his face. "You are so-"

"So _sexy_, I _know_, babe." Naruto purred. Hinata's mouth dropped open, entirely dumbfounded until Naruto actually looked at her seductively and _growled_. Yes, growled, like the kind of way a rapist would. Hinata's mouth opened and closed several times, reminding Naruto of a fish out of water.

"I'm sorry I even spoke!" Hinata clasped her hands together before storming out. Naruto watched her retreating figure leave, chuckling to himself.

"One, two, three, _cheese!_"

* * *

Hinata furiously brushed her teeth later that night, glaring at her reflection in the mirror.

The _nerve_ of him! Humiliating her like that in front of her friends, boss, and who'd be next? Tsunade-sama?! She pulled her hair back as she spit white foam out of her mouth, staring at her reflection, studying carefully. Underneath her makeup, Hinata looked dead sickly. Dark circles inhibited the undersides of her eyes, and her very few acne marks had yet to fade away. The darker patches contrasted terribly against her pasty complexion. Her nose still was too large, and her lips were still too thin.

Her eyes fell on her mouth, and Hinata couldn't help but think of the words Naruto spoke of earlier.

'_I _can_ smile!'_ Hinata assured herself in the mirror. Slowly, the corners of her lips pulled upwards. Hinata blinked to herself before a look of anger and embarrassment crossed her face. '_I can't smile. I can't fucking believe it. I really can't smile.'_

Her iPhone beeped on the granite counter top, a text message from an unfamiliar number was waiting to be opened. She frowned lightly as she unlocked her phone.

_smile Specs!_

Underneath the two-word text was a video embedded in the blue text box. She arched a brow and then clicked, her iPhone screen immediately turning into the first-person point of view of an argument between herself and Shikamaru in her kitchen. She impulsively turned her phone off before throwing it onto her bed, watching as it bounced off of her pillows and onto the floor.

Why her?!

Hinata tore her gaze from the bathroom mirror, stomping into her bedroom and flopping down onto the queen sized bed on her stomach, swinging her legs in the air as she pulled out her laptop and immediately connected to the internet.

The LCD light of the screen illuminated Hinata's face as her fingers danced over the keyboard adeptly.

_pranks to play on coworkers_

She clicked on the first link, brows pulling together before her smile would send the Cheshire Cat a run for his money.

"_An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind," _She murmured to herself, printing out the list and plotting her next actions. "Gandhi has nothing on _me_."

* * *

Soooo I would really appreciate it if you reviewed…


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto Shippuden**

_Shout out to: "night wolf," tedlay, itspaulpoke, Narugirl12, "Guest," "hiccup,"JOHNXgambit," Shay14, "Guest,"TL," and"Guest"_

**Thanks for reviewing you guys! Remember to keep them going!**

**A/N: I have a very extreme policy towards flames. If you're going to flame me, then prepare to be humiliated. **

* * *

Fervently chewing on her reddening lips, Hinata flitted paranoid glances between the lobby and the door to her office. Picking up her pace enough to be considered normal, she didn't spare the receptionist a glance as she stood in front of the dreaded oak door that symbolized the only thing that stopped her from going to the insane side.

A blue sticky note was attached to the door:

_Hey Naruto, Hinata_

_Since it's the official ending of the first week, you're going to be evaluated on your work ethic so I'm assigning you tasks to show Itachi how capable you two are since the bastard is _my_ boss. You'll do fine, just get this crap done._

_Naruto- Print out copies of each report that you and Hinata made over the past week_

_Hinata-Make sure he gets it done and give the actual reports to me in my office_

_Your BOSS- Sasuke_

'_God is in my favor,'_ Hinata thought gleefully as she read the note over, an evil grin spreading across her face as she tore the slip of paper taped to the door off and crumpled it. She glanced at the clock. It was only eight in the morning-an hour before work actually started- and no life of Naruto was to be seen or heard. If she surmised correctly, the ass was taking his sweet time getting to the building.

She immediately threw her stuff down into her office chair, nodding towards the rest of the room, eyes scanning over the immaculate symmetrical office.

Her grin finally reached her ears as she reached for her bag of freshly bought neon sticky tag notes. _'Now for some redecorating…'_

* * *

Naruto whistled happily when he approached his office building. After witnessing a very passionate argument between his mother and Jiraiya on why he wasn't allow to have his hookers over, Naruto thought it best to leave his house early. Besides, his little ball of sunshine wasn't going to be there yet, so he might as well think of something to make him smile. And _that_ required torturing Hinata in the process.

He shook flecks of snow off of his hair as he entered through the automatic glass doors, the heat of the building instantly thawing out his numb face.

"Hey, Naruto!"

Naruto followed the voice to find none other than Itachi Uchiha, grinning at him like a proud rooster. Naruto returned the wave, testing his circulation when he waved his arm back. "Yo!"

Itachi immediately stopped talking to the giggly raven-haired secretary who scowled at Naruto for stealing her potential boyfriend away before the boss was soon trading fist-bumps as if they were best friends. Naruto concealed his suspicions with a thousand mega-watt smile that could power up the city and the outskirts.

"What's up?" He asked casually as the boss slid next to him.

"Not much, really," Itachi averted his gaze momentarily. Naruto waited patiently as he arched a brow lightly.

"Um, this is going to be the weirdest thing ever coming from me, but would you mind if um…" Itachi trailed off once more, causing both of Naruto's brows to shoot upwards. "Yes?"

"Um, forget it…" Itachi mumbled, stepping out of his way. Naruto shrugged, about to walk away before Itachi yanked him back by the coat sleeve. "No, wait, I change my mind!"

"O-kay then…?" Naruto folded his arms across his chest. Itachi scanned over the lobby of the grandeur skyscraper before tugging Naruto to the elevator.

As the doors slid closed, Itachi finally faced Naruto, forehead creased as a light, nervous gesture.

"Can you ask Hinata if she'd like to go out with me for dinner?"

* * *

Hinata snapped a photo of her work on her iPhone, every capillary, vein and artery in her body brimming with pride and admiration as she lowered her phone, the chapped feeling of her fingers pulling sticky note after sticky note off of the pad felt like a badge of her hard work.

Flexing out her limbs as she got off the floor, an all-knowing smile flickered onto her face as she took in her handiwork that would make Hiashi proud if he were an ingenious prankster.

Hinata let out a satisfied smile, grinning widely now as she sent the image to Ino, Hanabi, Sasuke, and Kiba. Now all she had to do was wait for Naruto to return and it will only be then, when she saw the despair and anguish in his eyes and loathing attitude towards her would she be happy.

* * *

"If you want her _that_ badly, you should ask her yourself." Naruto advised, running a hand through his lightly tousled locks. Itachi gave him a half-grin, something that he did only when he was manipulating people with that half-assed sorry look of his.

"I would, but I don't think she likes me very much…"

"She doesn't like anybody very much." Naruto chuckled, wondering if it was because her hair was tied too tightly. Surely, any bun restricted and confined to such tight composure could definitely spur emotional responses. He grinned to himself. He would have to test that out later.

"Can you do it for me? Just this once?" Itachi asked pleadingly. Naruto rolled his eyes, pursing his lips as if he were deep in thought.

"Aw, what the heck. Sure, why not?"

Itachi's half-smile spread into a large grin, clapping Naruto on the shoulder. "Thanks, Naruto! I knew I could count on you!"

Naruto gave a cheeky grin in response as the doors opened once more, the hallway to his office in clear view.

After smiling happily to the secretary, he could hear the sound of the fingers clacking away loudly behind the door. Grinning now, he opened the door, ready to welcome his Specsy before his mouth dropped open in pure shock.

His blue eyes widened enough for his eyeballs to pop right out of their sockets, his jaw hitting his chest. Disbelief coursed through his body as he beheld the spectacle: Every single inch of Naruto's side of the room was covered in layer after layer of sticky-notes. The glossy mahogany surface of the desk was buried underneath neon and pastel colored papers that clung lazily to the wood. Hell, his chair was even covered down to the wheels!

The picture frames that were hung over his desk were clothed in pastel green while the wall was a rainbow of neon colors. How Hinata was able to do all of this, he would never know. Even the potted plant that was next to his desk was covered.

Reality finally hit him on the face: Hinata was fighting back.

Naruto suppressed a smirk as he turned to look at her astonished. She was leaning back in her plush chair, legs crossed, arms folded over her chest, head cocked lightly and a matching eyebrow up to join it. The corners of her mouth were up in a tight, small and smug grin, her eyes glued to his dumfounded form.

She leaned back onto her desk, propped up by her elbows as she spoke to him.

"Sasuke-kun needs you to print out all the reports we've created up to this point. Its part of our evaluation of work ethic, so I suggest you get cracking, huh?" Despite the casual statement, her tone was smug, her smirk was demeaning, her eyes, cruel.

But there was a _fire_ in her.

Naruto dropped his stuff next to his desk, trying to hide his pleasure as he plopped into his chair, the sounds of the paper scraping against the back of his shirt resonating, stealing a glance at Princess Specsy once more.

She had returned to her: _I hate you all so let me work_ stance with a pencil tucked behind her ear, a highlighter in one hand and three different charts on the other. Her glasses perched on the top of her nose as she glared venomously through them, her brows knitted in deep thought and concentration as she did her job.

* * *

'_Careful, Uzumaki. You may have the lead, but I'll beat you to your own game.'_ Hinata vowed murderously as she watched Naruto throw hundreds of sticky notes into the blue recycling bin.

* * *

Naruto honestly thought she was emotionless, but this just proved something to him: It was very, _very_ easy to annoy his coworker. Naruto would swallow his pride, just this once, and let her think that she's won this, because he was going to get her back _so_ bad.

He placed the blue bin outside, entering the silent room once more as he fitted computer paper documents to be photocopied for Sasuke.

Without giving the photocopies a second glance, he dropped them with a loud thud on Hinata's desk and gave her a shit-eating grin, just to piss her off a bit.

Her mouth hardened as she snatched the papers off of the desk and got up abruptly, pupiless eyes glaring back at him with equal presumed distaste as she stomped out of the room.

* * *

As Naruto watched her retreating figure stomp out of the door angrily he had to admit: She had a pretty nice butt. It was hidden and buried by her long blazer, but if he stooped low enough, he could see the gentle curve of her ass.

Keeping the thought to himself, he chuckled aloud as he began turning three-sixty's in his chair.

He caught a glimpse of Itachi walk past his office and continued to spin around playfully before stopping to a full and complete stop, a gigantic grin on his face as he thought up of revenge on the spot. All he needed was the maniacal laughter and thunder searing out behind him and he'd consider himself an evil genius.

"Hey, Itachi!" Naruto called out, running frantically after him though he wobbled slightly from the spinning.

The sophisticated closet pervert looked over his shoulder curiously before a warm but nervous smile settled onto his face. Before he could even say a word, Naruto beat him to it, panting lightly and practically glowing

"I'll text you her address later. She said she'll go on the date with you."

* * *

Hinata unlocked the doors of her house absent-mindedly, a third exhausted, a third relieved, and a third triumphant with her latest victory. Kiba and Ino had both congratulated her on her hard work on the prank, though Kiba assured her she could do a lot better next time. Sasuke even decided to stop her before she left the office to send him a picture of the work, eyes crinkling in smug pleasure as Hinata gladly sent her masterpiece to him. He even asked to join the next time she planned on pranking him. Itachi seemed to be avoiding her, which was absolutely _wonderful_, and Naruto hadn't bothered her after she dropped off the papers at Sasuke's office.

So in all, she was feeling pretty damn good.

"I'm home!" She called out. Her voice bounced in the empty halls of the house; no one was there to greet her.

"Hinata? Is that you? Come here, darling!" A voice sang out to her from the depths of the kitchen.

With that being said, she now _wished_ there was no one to greet her. Hinata sighed heavily, dropping her bag by the door and locking it swiftly behind her as she trudged with heavy steps into the kitchen. Hanaka was grinning toothily, her faded teeth now lightly yellowed if one could see in the right light. Her beady eyes were glittering in mischief, an all-knowing glance covering her face.

"Yes, _obaa-sama?_" Hinata asked patiently, waiting for whatever demand Hanaka had to place on her pretty head.

"Oh, don't give me that look!" Hanaka grasped her shoulder in a semi-gentle embrace. "I'm so glad you agreed!"

"Agreed to what?" Hinata asked, breaking the hug and looking at her confusedly. Hanaka blinked twice.

"The date!"

"Wait, we had a date together?" Hinata mused out loud, brows furrowing into a deep look of irritation crossed with disgust.

"No!" Hanaka's eyebrow twitched. "With the Uchiha boy!"

"Sasuke-kun's married." Hinata deadpanned. Hanaka shook her head exasperatedly. "Itachi-san! He asked you out and you agreed, didn't you?! I'm so happy and proud! Finally! I would _love _to see the beautiful children you'll provide me with him!"

Hinata frowned lightly, her brows knitting together in confusion. "You're sadly mistaken, _obaa-sama_. I never agreed to go onto a date with Itachi…he's my boss's boss, so it can never happen."

"That's not what the Uzumaki boy told me." Hanaka smirked, folding her bony arms over her chest. "I love how you're in denial. It's the first step to love, you know."

_That_ struck a nerve. Hinata's hands clenched themselves into fists as her frown deepened. "Wait, what about the Uzumaki boy?"

"Hm? He was the one who called me and told me that you agreed to go on a date with him."

Hinata's shock hit her like a fabulous right hook.

'_Heads will fucking roll.'_

* * *

Review this chapter if you can't wait for the date between Itachi and Hinata!


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto Shippuden**

**Shoutout to: **_Carrottuce, Blaze Release, Shay14, "Guest," Kilalahinanaruto, aja342,"Guest," Narugirl12, "Hiccup," kika04, GD12, Zurcior, "Guest," and Pip-Doodely-Doo, and "Live with Walkman" for reviewing chapter 7. _

**Thanks for reviewing! I love you all!**

**A/N: A reviewer stated that Hyuuga meant "A place in the sun." Thanks so much for the advice, but I actually got help from a Japanese speaker with that one. "A sunny place" and "a place in the sun" are pretty much the same, and thanks to the other reviewer about the Christian prayers. I wouldn't know, so that was helpful :). Anyways, let's hear it for the flame of the chapter: **_Guest_

"_"Review this chapter if you can't wait for the date between Itachi and Hinata!"_

Uh, why would I want that if I'm reading a Naruto/Hinata story? Even if you made Naruto the most unlikable character I've read in awhile."

**Well, my fellow flamer, clearly you **_**do**_** want it. I've been dropping ItaHina moments since chapter 1, and if you REALLY didn't wanna see some action between them, you would've stopped reading ever since the beginning paragraphs. Besides, I think it's pretty obvious at this point that the date's going to be a fiasco nonetheless. And Naruto's **_**meant**_** to be unlikable, so that means I'm actually doing a fan-frikking-tastic job of writing his character. K thnx bye.**

* * *

"_You're going on a date with Itachi Uchiha!? But I thought you hated him!" _Kiba cried over the phone loudly. Hinata sighed, rubbing her temples as she tiredly looked over the selection of skimpy dresses to wear to her-ugh-_date_ tonight. Cradling her phone in between her shoulder and ear, she began going through the wide variety of cocktail dresses that Hanaka claimed to have found lying in the back of Hinata's closet, which was weird because half of them still had their price tags on them.

"_Shut up, Kibbles! Can't you see this is the perfect opportunity for Hinata to get laid!? Oh my Kami, I also have a date tonight! Let's do a foursome!"_ Ino yelled from the other side.

"_Um…ew."_

"Guys, as much as I'd love to hear you guys fantasize about my possible sexual advance with one of acclaimed hottest man on the face of this planet, I called three-way because I need moral support. I hate Naruto _so fucking much_, like he'd be lucky to see the next day as soon as I get my hands around his stupid neck…" Hinata's anger got the best of her as she chucked a skimpy dress across the room, knocking over her bed lamp. She tossed her wet hair over her shoulder, glaring at the empty spot where the lamp used to be; as if it were the poor inanimate object's fault.

"_Right, sorry. So when's the fine piece of ass coming by to pick you up anyways?"_ Ino asked.

Hinata shrugged despite the fact that her blonde counterpart couldn't see it. "I think seven-ish. I don't get why my grandma won't let me cancel. She's currently battling it out with my dad about it downstairs."

"_I have to admit, that Naruto guy really did a number on you. I was just about to ask if you were planning on canceling…"_ Kiba sighed. "_Well, you know, perhaps we can _coincidentally _run into each other at the restaurant, when Akamaru _coincidentally _gets a heart attack and your bestie needs moral support as we run off to the animal hospital which would be my place with all the video games we could stuff our faces into…"_

Hinata _had_ to smile upon hearing that. "Well then, that certainly would be a _coincidence_, wouldn't it?"

"_No! You can't! Hinata, when was the last time you went on a date?"_ Ino refuted. Hinata had to stop and think. "I think I went with Subaku no Gaara for prom…"

"_Dude, I so just sweat-dropped."_ Kiba deadpanned. Ino snorted. "_And I highly doubt his insomnia came to any use when the night came, am I right?"_

"That you are right about. Still a proud virgin." Hinata sighed dejectedly. She glanced at the clock. "Okay, so I have about another hour to get ready, but my grandma's planning on doing my hair and make-up. I'll call you guys later and tell you how it went."

"_Cool by me! And if you guys have sex, you have to tell me every single steamy detail!"_

"_Um, don't tell me the steamy details. In fact, don't tell me at all. Good luck with your date, Hina-chan. You know how to reach us incase if the loser tries to pull a move on you._" Kiba said. Hinata bid them both goodbye before hanging up and staring at the pile of clothes vulgarly. She fished out a dress that resembled more like lingerie than anything.

"I hate you, Uzumaki Naruto." Hinata groaned in exasperation

* * *

Itachi was a _very_ happy man this fine cold December evening. For one, he had a date tonight…a _hot Hyuuga_ date tonight. How Naruto asked her for him and how she agreed he would never know, but frankly, he couldn't care less. He had a date with her!

He whistled a happy tune as he finished tucking in his scarlet tie into his midnight black suit, folding a light gray handkerchief into the breast pocket. Tying his hair back into his signature low ponytail, he gazed at himself admiringly.

"What are you all dressed up for?" Sasuke asked casually, leaning in the doorway of his brother's room. Itachi grinned as he folded his wallet into his pocket. "I've got a date tonight."

"Don't you always?" Sasuke rolled his eyes sarcastically, only earning a poke on the forehead by his older brother as Itachi passed him. He jerked his head back, glowering at the beaming man.

"I do, foolish younger brother of mine, but tonight, things are going to be _different_." Itachi said simply, slipping on his fancy Italian leather shoes.

"Really? How so?" Sasuke asked, half interested, the other half thinking that he was most likely getting laid. Again.

"Be_cause_, little brother," Itachi opened the door of their apartment flat. "I've got a date with none other than _Hinata Hyuuga_! Wish me luck in capturing her heart tonight!"

As Itachi closed the door, Sasuke's mouth dropped open. After standing for an entire minute in complete shock, he sprinted over to the phone. Punching in is best friend's number he waited for the phone to pick up.

"_Hello?"_

"Naruto? Yeah, it's Sasuke. Get ready, we're going to dinner."

* * *

"You look _mar_velous!" Hanaka gushed as she watched Hinata descend the stairs. "See, I told you to trust me when it comes to these things! Oh, that Uchiha boy will drop dead when he sees you!"

Hinata forced a smile on her maroon lips, her face feeling heavy with the make-up that Hanaka put on her. Onyx kohl lined her eyes, making her pupiless white orbs seem much paler than normal. Her lavender eye-shadow barely gave off any color, and the concealer Hanaka smudged on made her skin look exactly like a porcelain doll's.

As for her dress, the scratchy lace of the dark purple satin number billowed out against her hips, her bodice and arms concealed in an extremely tight corset. The sleeves were made out of a sheer material, the neckline plunging well below her comfort level.

"Damn, Hinata, you look hot!" Hanabi whistled, earning a beam from Hanaka. Hiashi merely stood stiffly, watching his daughter finally reach the base.

"You look nice." Neji complimented. Hinata merely gave him a small smile; eyes glued to her stripper heels as Hanaka shoved an indigo clutch into her hands and wrapped a shawl over her shoulders. Her hair was down for once, but her bangs were clipped up with a small butterfly clip.

The doorbell rang behind them, Hinata thankful and cursing the distraction.

"I'll get it!" Hanaka cried out gleefully, shuffling away as fast as she could. Hanabi shrugged. "Might as well go check out my future brother-in-law."

Neji sighed, getting ready to give his most intimidating Hyuuga glare to possible scare him off, leaving Hiashi and Hinata by themselves.

Hiashi's emotionless stare scanned over Hinata head to toe, taking in her attire, her slouch, her white-knuckle grip on her clutch, and her tense position.

Hiashi's eyes narrowed at her. "Do not act as if you are afraid of the man. You were the one that agreed to be courted."

Pride got the best of Hinata, lodging itself into her throat. She nodded stiffly, eyes refusing to meet his. "Yes, Father. I'm sorry."

"Go. It is rude to keep him waiting." Hiashi replied coldly, turning onto his heel back into his office.

Hinata let out a small exhale of disappointment as she trudged to the door. Neji was glaring at the back of Itachi's head while Hanaka and said man were conversing, Hanabi occasionally jumping into the conversation to say a witty remark. As Hinata's heels marked her entrance, everybody looked up simultaneously to look at her. Hanaka was smirking smugly while Hanabi and Neji were glaring at the back of Itachi's heads together. Itachi's face lit up as if it were fucking Christmas when his eyes fell over Hinata.

"Wow, you look…gorgeous." Itachi breathed. Hinata forced on her best fake smile.

"Thank you. You look dashing yourself." She responded half-heartedly.

Hanaka giggled loudly. "Well now, you two lovebirds should best be on your way now, right? Well go on now, shoo! Off you two go!"

She practically pushed them out the doorway, Itachi keeping a firm grip on her hand as they stumbled awkwardly through the door.

"Keep her for as long as you want!"

"Back by eleven!" Neji shouted after her, shifting his glare to Hanaka now to miss out on Itachi opening the door for Hinata and driving off.

* * *

"Sasuke, you're a married man. Your wife will be more than disappointed to see you taking me out to a fancy dinner." Naruto said with a hint of accusing in his tone as Sasuke drove a bit faster, ignoring the signs of the speed limit.

"Shut the fuck up. Hinata is currently at stake here." Sasuke replied sharply, merging onto the highway. Naruto yawned obnoxiously.

"She's a big girl, she can take care of herself you know." Naruto smirked smugly, playing with the seat of Sasuke's Escalade. Sasuke shot him a death glare.

"And what's going to happen when he decides to promote her to his secretary and leaves me short of a lawyer? Or worse, she decides to quit? I'll never be able to take the company!" Sasuke exploded. Naruto held up his hands. "Whoa, man, chill. She's not gonna quit her job."

"This is your entire fault." Sasuke glowered at Naruto at a red light. "If you just swallowed your stupid pride and just let her do her job, we wouldn't be racing to their date to make sure that Itachi doesn't do anything stupid."

Naruto pursed his lips. "She wanted to fight fire with fire, so I gave her hell."

Sasuke rolled his eyes, slamming on the gas as the car lurched forward. "Look, this is for Hinata's sake. She goes through a lot of shit, and she definitely doesn't need yours to add onto it."

"The woman needs to have some fun! Have you seen her work ethic?! She's like a robot!" Naruto told him in disbelief, hands tugging at his blonde locks to make his point. Sasuke rolled his eyes as he rolled into the parking lot of the restaurant. "Because she's a good worker. She's not the only one like that either. Her entire family practically goes into panic attacks when they have nothing to do."

"Why do you care so much anyways?" Naruto asked, a shit-eating grin on his face. "You're a married man who's taking me out to dinner to stalk one of your workers!"

Sasuke promptly smacked Naruto on the side of his head, parking the car. "Hinata's one of my friends. Itachi's only trying to get into her pants and I _don't_ want to put up with a sex-deprived Itachi and an army of Hyuugas."

* * *

'_I'm losing my virginity tonight.'_ Hinata affirmed to herself silently as she nervously looked up from her menu to steal a glance at a calmly collected Itachi. Itachi _had_ to choose the table with the most privacy, so they were currently confined to a table in the back of the fanciest, most expensive, exotic restaurant that he chose: _Rouge_.

_did he pull a move on you?_

_-Kiba_

Hinata's iPhone was hidden by her menu. Quickly typing her answer, her eyes fell back down to her menu just as Itachi looked at her.

_No but im scared shitless. WHY ME!?_

_-Hinata_

"So, Hinata-chan, are you happy to be working in the company?" Itachi asked lightly, looking up from his menu to glance at his date. Her eyes were downcast on her menu as she looked up at him, her usual glasses on the bridge of her nose. She pushed them up as she forced on a small smile to him. "Oh, yes, I like working with familiar faces."

She lied easily through her teeth as Itachi gave her a grin back, making her feel a little uncomfortable. Referring to the menu, she attempted to shift his attention off of her. "So, Itachi-san, see anything you like?"

Itachi's eyes narrowed in a seductive matter as his hand reached out and cupped over hers. Offering her a smirk, he responded, eyes penetrating past her glasses and into hers. "Oh, yes I do."

Hinata paled underneath her makeup, a wave of nausea overtaking her as she forced on a restrained smile and tried her hardest to let her hand stay underneath Itachi's and not snatch it away and sanitize it immediately.

Before she could open her mouth again, Itachi took her hand in his, stroking the back of her palm with his thumb.

"Hinata-chan, I have no idea why I'm so drawn to you. The first time I saw you at the party, I was absolutely astounded by your beauty." Itachi purred. Hinata's heart raced as he brought it up to his lips and kissed her hand.

"I was so happy when I heard that you decided to work in our company. I mean like, sure, you were working with my idiot brother, but I can change that you know," Itachi looked at her intensely.

"W-what do you mean?" Hinata stammered unintelligibly. Itachi gave her a smug smirk. "Did you know that I could promote you as my personal secretary? We'd be together all most all the time, and instead of working under my brother, you'd be working under me."

"I did not know that," Hinata said faintly. The idea of being Itachi's personal secretary…she would have shuddered had not the next distraction pursued Itachi's attention.

"Oh, _hey,_ Itachi. I had _no idea_ that your date was going to be _here_ tonight."

"Sasuke? What are you doing here?" Itachi asked coolly. Sasuke rolled his eyes, eyebrows knit into a light frown as his gaze fell on their intertwined hands. He raised a brow at Hinata, who shrugged.

"I was in the mood for French tonight. And Naruto made me promise to take him out for dinner." He shrugged non-chalantly.

"Naruto?" Hinata asked through gritted teeth. Sasuke nodded grimly, adding in a wink that only Hinata could catch and a small smirk. "Unfortunately. The dumbass apparently set up some poor girl to go onto a date with this pervert that I know. Apparently, their date is here tonight."

"Really?" Itachi's brow creased. "Wow, I had no idea Naruto could be such a…"

"Dumbass?" Sasuke offered.

"Inconsiderate asshole?" Hinata suggested after him sarcastically.

"I was going to say 'matchmaker,' but I guess that works too. Good luck on finding that couple." Itachi waved. Sasuke didn't move. "Actually, I just saw her leave the restaurant. I wouldn't want to disappoint Naruto by not treating him, right? Hey, scoot over, Itachi. We'll hang out with you guys."

For the first time ever, Hinata saw Itachi's vein pop. "Why don't you guys get a _different_ table, _away _from Hina-chan and me?"

"What would be the point in that? Besides, I think that Hinata would be much more comfortable with me around since we're friends. Right Hina-chan?" Sasuke glanced down at Hinata. At this point, she would've happily gotten up and thrown her arms around his neck and serenade about his awesomeness. Instead, she looked at Itachi with a gentle smile. Swallowing her revulsion, she used her most sugary sweet voice. "Itachi-san, what harm could be done if Sasuke-kun joins us? I admit, I'll be a bit more comfortable and this could be a wonderful opportunity for me to get to know you better."

"Hina-chan, I hate how adorable you are. How the hell am I supposed to say _no_ to that?" Itachi chuckled as his shoulders slumped in disappointment. Sasuke easily plopped down next to Hinata, and she discreetly high-fived him under the table. She couldn't contain her happiness and relief. Just as she was about to open her mouth again, the moron finally decided to make an appearance.

"Teme! Specsy!" Naruto clamored loudly with a huge grin on his face, pausing at the front of the table to scan the faces of the three occupants. He pouted childly. "Man, Teme, you're so mean! You ditch me behind to hang out with Specsy and her date!"

"Yep. Looks like that couple that you idiotically set up is done." Sasuke offered a sly grin. Naruto nodded, pursing his lips. "So, we're hanging out with Itachi and his date? Cool by me!"

Naruto slid into the chair next to Itachi, grabbing Hinata's menu. "Man, I'm starving!"

"Sasuke, switch places with me." Itachi said abruptly, getting out of his seat. Hinata's eyes widened at the thought of sitting next to a lecherous Itachi in her already tiny dress and paled visibly. Unfortunately, Sasuke merely shrugged and got up, switching spot with him. Hinata threw him a look of daggers as Sasuke sat down, to which he shrugged helplessly. She then shifted her glare to Naruto, who was obliviously leafing through his menu.

It was that entire bastards fault. Hinata's mouth hardened as her grip around her clutch tightened.

"Well then, now that we're all situated, how about we order now?" Itachi offered charmingly, also oblivious to the menacing glares and thick tension that surrounded the table.

* * *

"Konan and Pain weren't all that bad. I'm glad that they ditched the Akatsuki before things got out of hand." Itachi clucked to himself as he cut pieces of his steak. Hinata merely kept her head bowed as she noticed Itachi's other hand slowly nearing her thigh.

She crossed her legs, nodding though she honestly felt too nauseated to eat her escargots.

"I've met them both before. They're a really nice couple…did you know they were Ero-sensei's students, too?" Naruto said. Sasuke merely grumbled in response, poking at his snails in equal distaste.

"So how many members are in jail anyways?" Hinata asked, trying to contribute to the conversation to distract Itachi's hand from nearing hers any closer.

"Let's see…Sasori was shot in the middle of his drug exchange, Deidara committed suicide via the C4 clay explosives in the storage room, Kakuzu was taken out by some amateur cops, Hidan idiotically killed himself by too much blood loss when he sacrificed himself to his god, Pain and Konan quit, I came back, so only Zetsu, Kisame and Madara have been imprisoned." Itachi said thoughtfully. The other three occupants' mouths dropped open in disbelief.

"You speak of the dead remorselessly." Sasuke sighed, shaking his head.

"I'll be honest with you. Other than Kisame, Pain and Konan, I didn't really like the others." Itachi shrugged.

"And what made you go join them?" Sasuke asked brusquely. Itachi looked at him skeptically. "You sound as if you already know the answer, little brother."

Naruto and Hinata sensed the tension in between the two brothers. Their eyes locked onto each other before she turned her head away, glaring at him before doing so.

"So, Specsy, your birthday is coming up real soon…December twenty-seventh, right? That's like, two weeks away." Naruto announced loudly. Both Uchiha's stopped their staring contest. Hinata felt her anger boil up and her cheeks reddening as everybody at the table looked at her.

"How do you know that?" Her eyes flashed with anger as she spoke through gritted teeth.

"It's your birthday next week?! That's great! How old are you turning?" Itachi asked enthusiastically.

"We should have an office party…you can invite your friends from the other companies to celebrate." Sasuke suggested, giving her a grin.

"Let's go clubbing!" Naruto exclaimed loudly. Hinata nervously smiled, feeling the heat of the eyes on her. "Actually, I don't like celebrating my birthday…"

"What?! But it's the one day people get you stuff for free!" Itachi reasoned. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Birthdays aren't about present, Itachi."

"Yeah, but it's nice to get stuff…"

"You already have everything."

"Not _everything_." Itachi purred back. Hinata was in the middle of sipping her cold wine when she felt Itachi's hand on her knee slowly traveling up her thigh. Her heart beat raced ahead of her as Itachi stopped before giving her a squeeze in a really sensitive part of her upper leg.

She gasped, jumping a bit just as Sasuke realized that Itachi was groping Hinata under the table.

Before Hinata could even make sense of the situation, Sasuke was already leaning across the table to punch Itachi across the face. The sound of his fist connecting with Itachi's nose made a clear _crack_ sound that made heads turn around to look at the table.

"You _pervert!_ In the middle of a restaurant!" Sasuke shouted as Itachi attempted to wrestle his hands off. His hands lodged themselves onto Sasuke, gripping his shirt as he dragged him down with him, sending over their chairs down in a furor.

Hinata felt eyes fall on her accusingly as she gulped and turned beet red. She leaned over the chair, trying to break them apart unsuccessfully.

"Both of you _stop it!_" She hissed, allowing her façade to fall momentarily. They obviously didn't listen to her continuing to fight in the middle of the restaurant. She looked pleadingly at Naruto, but the idiot was taking a video of the whole scenario with a huge grin on his face. She rolled her eyes, focusing back on the group. The waiter that had been serving them was nervously flitting glances between the wrestling brothers and the door to ditching the situation entirely.

Hinata sighed, cracking her knuckles. The last thing anybody wanted was an angry Hinata.

* * *

The four of them stood sheepishly in the middle of Hiashi's office, Kushina, Jiraiya, Hiashi, Hanabi, Hanaka and Neji all waiting for an explanation with inquiring, cold looks on their faces.

Itachi had steak sauce covering his suit, a random fry sticking out of his disheveled hair and his dress shirt was torn in random places. His face was flawless…except for the face that his left cheek had an imprint of a hand on it and a bruise was forming at his other cheek.

Sasuke's hair was matted down by wine, the red sticky juice staining his own white dress shirt and covering his forehead. He had smears of food across his pants, and his left shoe was missing.

Naruto stood proudly as ever, sporting a fabulous black eye and cut lip. His horribly orange shirt had gone missing in the fray and was standing around in only his jacket and pants, which were scuffed up pretty bad.

Then there was Hinata, who was cringing and cowering at the end of the guilty party in her torn up dress. Her carefully caked on makeup was smeared beyond comprehension, making her look like the bride of Frankenstein. She was missing a heel and the left arm of her ensemble was torn off. As for the bodice of her dress, a big gash ran through the middle, showing off the side of her hip. Her glasses were snapped in half, which she was gripping onto with a white-knuckle clutch.

"Explain yourselves." Hiashi commanded coldly. Kushina looked like she was about ready to beat the crap out of everyone, Jiraiya keep his hands over her wrists as a way of preventing her. Hanabi and Neji were trying her hardest not to laugh, because seriously, who wouldn't laugh at seeing some of the most famous business tycoons covered head to toe in fancy French food? Hanaka was giddy, thinking that this was just a lover's quarrel.

The four of them jumped slightly at the sound of Hiashi speaking. Hinata swallowed the growing lump in her throat and stepped, stumbling because of the lack of heel.

"A-ano, th-this is all just a h-huge m-misunderstanding…"

"Explain, Hinata," Hiashi's cold eyes dug through Hinata. The cerulean princess cringed visibly, however, Hiashi didn't stop there. "Explain to me why you are incapable of keeping yourself in control. Explain to me why you cannot handle relationships maturely. Why have you disrespected your bosses and your coworkers like this? How could have stooped so low to do this to you-to your _family_."

Hinata bit the inside of her cheek, her chest visibly heaving heavily to choke back sobs as all eyes fell on her. Tears burned the backs of her eyes as she forced her mouth to open. Her tongue dried immediately, the sour, bitter taste of her weakness compelling her to keep it shut.

Naruto glanced around the room, noticing how the tension got twenty times thicker and Hinata attempting to control herself. He cocked his head lightly, finally making sense of what Sasuke told him before. Hanabi and Neji weren't looking at Hinata, instead, staring at their father as if in disbelief and disgust. Kushina and Jiraiya were looking at Hinata, yes, but in pity. Even Itachi and Sasuke peeled their gazes off of her.

"I don't think we should all point to Hinata for the excuses," Naruto spoke brashly, a smile on his face. Hiashi's emotionless stare was now on him as all eyes turned to the blonde. Naruto took out his cracked phone, tapping the screen. Hinata looked up at him in disbelief.

Was he….helping her?

"Neji, I sent you the video. Show your dad."

As if on cue, Neji's iPhone made a little staccato beep, signaling that he received the message. Curiously looking on, everybody watched as he pulled out and tapped the screen of his phone before Neji handed it over to Hiashi.

"The four of you are dismissed now."

* * *

"What…do we do?" Itachi asked stupidly, looking at the faces of the people around him.

"Well, since you're here, you might as well get cleaned off." Hanabi suggested, smiling a bit _too_ sweetly at Sasuke and Itachi. "I'll show you guys to the bathroom."

"Oh, I know! Let's all take a bath together!" Naruto exclaimed excitedly. "That ways we can save water and everything!"

Hinata wasn't the only one to glare at him disgustedly. Hanabi giggled loudly. "Sorry, Naruto-kun. Looks like nobody's up for it."

Naruto pouted before he grabbed Hanabi's arm, steering her to the direction of a random room. "I know! I'll let you wash my back and then I'll wash yours!"

Hinata, Sasuke and Neji simultaneously hit Naruto on the head.

"I need those brain cells! Stop hitting me!" Naruto pleaded, covering his head with his arms now. Neji sighed. "This is going to be hard to work out."

* * *

While the guilty party was busy being cleaned up, Hiashi, Kushina, Jiraiya and Hanaka watched on interestedly at the small screen.

They watched Hinata crack her knuckles before stomping in front of the two wrestling boys to pull them apart, only to get a hit to the face which Itachi threw that was reserved for Sasuke. The Uchihas were now gasping collectively as Hinata's head jerked back upon the impact, her hair flying out before her and her glasses airborne. She turned her head back to them as Itachi commenced apologizing profusely, to which Hinata responded by taking Naruto's bowl of soup and dumping it on him before swiftly slapping his across the cheek. Naruto was the one who made the next move by taking Hinata's wine and throwing it at her, but she moved out of the way quickly enough and the red liquid drenched Sasuke instead. Hinata round-house kicked Naruto, but missed, ending in hitting the table, promptly snapping off her heel.

The next events was a series of flying punches and kicked and a random thrown fork that ripped Hinata's dress across the table before security showed up and escorted them to the door.

By now, three adults were wide-eyed. Hiashi remained emotionless as ever as he rubbed a hand over his temple tiredly.

"If that's not sexual tension, I don't know what is." Kushina clucked her tongue.

* * *

Hinata, in short, was depressed and beyond infuriated at the same time. Her father just humiliated her mercilessly, everybody probably pitied her beyond belief, and she almost let herself break down in front of everybody. She felt disgusting all over due to Itachi's touchiness, the food that was lodged in her cleavage and hair, and most of all, just because she was herself.

Her father was right; she shouldn't have allowed her anger to get the best of her. The end result only ended up with her own self getting hurt, though the satisfaction of giving Naruto a black eye was evident. She was still ashamed of her actions. She shouldn't have done anything; she shouldn't have listened to Kurenai-sensei and allow herself to indulge like that.

She was so beyond infuriated that even Satan would be beaming. She damned Naruto to the deepest pit of hell, though she already knew that there was no possible way that she could magically stop seeing him. It was all his fault anyways, though she couldn't help but admit…perhaps she was either in denial or she was having second thoughts…but the fact that he stood up for her…

No, this was _Naruto Uzumaki_ she was talking about! The happy-go-lucky idiot that made her life a living hell, the guy that made her go onto a date with her boss's boss! It was the same guy that had sang to her the first day he met her, threw paper balls at her, and had dinner at her house after inviting himself!

Hinata swallowed thickly. She absolutely undeniably hated Naruto Uzumaki, and just because he did one thing for her sake doesn't mean that he's the greatest person in the world.

* * *

Aw, poor Hina-chan. I feel awful doing this to her :S ah well, for the sake of fanfiction!


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto Shippuden!**

_Shout out to: "Guest," __Kilalahinanaruto555, "LeeRocks," Shay14, forbiddenluv4Naruto, "Guest," Blaze Release, The Crimson Lotus King, goNxH, "Hiccup," Sundepender, Krittika, and narutofreak23. Thanks for dropping a review!_

**I've decided not to address anybody who disagrees on my style of writing or characterization since I realize that it's your own opinion. All I'm gonna say is that hater's gonna hate. ****And, if you're going to call me rude names, at least do it with proper grammar.**

**Anyways, for those who are wondering, Naruto won't exactly change, but...he'l be different. That's all I'm going to say. Anyways, since I notice the bombardment of questions, I'm going to address those at the end of this chapter. **

**One more thing! I need a beta reader to go over my mistakes and clear up confusions! If you're interested, PM me.**

* * *

"I can't believe you gave Naruto a black eye." Ino grinned cheekily at her friend as they waited at Starbucks again. Hinata's jaw clenched as she forked over the required amount of money with a bit of too much force, slamming the bill against the granite counter and ultimately startling the teenaged vendor.

"_Don't _even say his name." Hinata warned as she stomped over to the designated area to pick up her stuff.

"Don't you think you should cut him some slack? I mean like, he _was_ the one that got his ass whooped." Ino suggested, shrugging in her pea coat. Hinata shook her head curtly, offering no reply. Ino sighed. "Well what are you going to do now?"

Hinata laughed bitterly. "Considering the fact that I got humiliated by my dad in front of both my bosses, I'm keeping things on a professional level from now on. I don't care what he does to me anymore, it just matters what we get done."

"Oh." Ino said disappointedly. She perked up anyways. "How much have you gotten done?"

"Roughly around a quarter. I would have the entire thing finished if that ass-wipe weren't my partner." Hinata said grimly. Ino chuckled, pulling on one of Hinata's framing locks. "It's only been a month and that was supposed to be a whole year project! Damn, you really need to loosen up a bit."

"I don't have _time_ to loosen up, Ino." Hinata replied warily as she took her styrofoam cup. "I can't afford to humiliate myself more than I already have. These distractions take away precious time and energy that I could be exerting into work."

"Oh," Ino said again before the two departed for the oncoming subways. "Well then, if it makes you feel better, my date stood me up last night."

"What?" Hinata's brow creased as she looked at her. "First off, how would that make me feel better? And then second, why?"

Ino shrugged, stealing Hinata's cup to take a sip. "I dunno, maybe to make you realize you're not the only one in pain. I'm guessing Temari had to do with it."

Hinata sighed. "Guys are such ass holes."

"Amen." Ino agreed whole-heartedly, bobbing her head as the two of them migrated with the crowd into the subway car. The two of them stood, holding onto the pole of the packed car as it lurched forward.

Hinata was slightly grateful for the silence that consumed the both of them. It wasn't awkward; it was just simple. Hinata shook her head, clearing out her thoughts. She had a load still on her plate from last night. First off, she needed to begin asserting herself correctly. As much as she hated the idea of it, she realized she would have to apologize to her bosses and then-ugh, _Naruto_. Her teeth clenched as her eyes narrowed on her lap.

Her father's cold words towards her were still fresh in her mind. Despite the fact that he ruthlessly incurred his wrath of humiliating and degrading her in front of anybody that she's been giving respect lessons to, she blamed herself to some extent for not being stronger. Hinata mentally let out a sad sigh. She worked so hard for her façade to be sculpted into the perfect cold, ruthless woman she was. She was supposed to be indifferent to everything anybody said, but why was it that her father could easily make her cringe without even trying? Why was it that she was so damn sensitive?

Somewhere while deep in her thoughts, Ino left the car where her destination was as Kiba looked around for her, spotting her in the crowd.

"Hey Sunshine," Kiba greeted with a wide smile. Hinata's eyes flickered upwards to meet Kiba's as a tired smile caressed her features. "Hey, Kibbles."

Kiba frowned at her as he pulled Hinata with him into two vacant seats. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, great, just perfect…" Hinata sighed wearily again. Kiba offered a pat on the shoulder. "I'm assuming this had to do with your date last night. You never told me how it went."

"Ask Neji to send you the video later. I'm too pissed and tired to care right now." She pouted, resting her head on his shoulder. Kiba sighed, wrapping an arm around his best friend. "Wanna talk about it?"

"No." Hinata said. She knew he wouldn't probe her about it; that was her decision and he was going to respect that. Kiba offered another sympathetic smile and ruffled her bangs instead, allowing the duo to sit in silence for the rest of the ride.

* * *

When Hinata first met Kiba in college, she didn't like him at all. He was rude, loud, and desperate for attention, in specific, girls' attention. Even more specific, Hinata's attention. He used to annoy her endlessly, mimicking her stutter and making fun of her shyness and just being the douche he was.

They did eventually become friends, but Hinata didn't quite trust him. Of course, college bit him hard in the ass and he learned to grow up along with getting his head out of his butt, but he was still…Kiba. That eventually changed one day.

* * *

"You know what Hinata, I'm really glad I'm friends with you. You're not sexy, not funny, and I know that you'll always be there to listen to me no matter what. You're a great friend." Kiba said solemnly as the two took their seats for their business class's lecture. Hinata pulled on a sarcastic smile. "Thanks Kiba, you too." She punched him in the arm, her face contorting into anger. "Jerk,"

Kiba rolled his eyes, commencing with the beginnings of the lecture until _she_ walked in. Olive skin, firey red hair, long legs and a look that could _kill_, Kiba _had_ to have what's-her-face.

"Her name is Karui, comes from Kumogakure, and yes, she's new here. Yes, she's single, but no, she just got dumped so she isn't up for grabs." Hinata informed without even looking up from her paper. Kiba was seated in the end seat next to the aisle, Hinata right next to him. Karui had walked up the aisle when Kiba caught her attention.

"Hey, why don't you sit?" Kiba asked, flashing a flirty smile. Hinata rolled her eyes as Karui gave the same smile back, twirling a strand of her scarlet locks. "Where?"

"Well, I would say in my lap so you're close to my heart, but for now, behind me is good." Kiba chuckled, ushering to the seat behind him in the row above. Karui flashed a grin. "Thanks."

What Kiba hadn't seen was that an old woman was already occupying that seat and Karui went to sit somewhere else in the large lecture hall.

"Watch me work my magic," Kiba gloated as he ripped out a sheet of paper from Hinata's notebook, scrawling in chicken scratch across the page, "_DINNER 8?_"

He passed the note behind him without a glance, smirking and giving the thumbs up to Hinata. She glared back at him and attempted to pay attention to her the lecture, but Kiba's stupidity was distracting her.

Kiba got the note of paper, to which underneath his note was a YES written in elegant cursive. Kiba's grin grew wide enough to power up the room as he turned around, freezing into place when the old woman seated behind him grinned coyly and winked. He faced forward, sheer horror on his face as it was Hinata's turn to give him the thumbs up and prevented herself from laughing.

He whipped out his small black diary-which he corrected Hinata numerous times before by saying it was a personal biography of his life- and wrote away. Hinata never asked him about it, and likewise, Kiba never brought it up. They knew each other's' boundaries and were fine with staying far behind the limit. Kiba never bothered her about her family life when she didn't want to talk, and Hinata never prodded information on his diary. It was a silent agreement that was acknowledged by the both of them and either of them knew that they wouldn't have it any other way.

But the only reason, even up till today, that Hinata trusted him was in one simple little event: He didn't leave his date hanging, despite how wrinkly she was.

* * *

When Hinata walked into the office building, she was rather surprised when all eyes fell on her and then rip away abruptly when mouths began whispering into one big collective wave of gossip.

Hinata sighed. Of course Naruto must have sent the video to some immature idiot, and from there, it went viral.

Her primal feelings of self-consciousness and awkwardness were easily replaced with downright irritation as she sent a look cold enough to freeze hell over. The secretaries immediately busied themselves in whatever their menial jobs had in store for them as she strode with fake confidence to the elevator, pressing the button and then pulling out her phone, pretending she was texting someone.

"Hinata-chan," A familiar baritone voice spoke behind her. Hinata squeezed her eyelids shut and quickly exhaling as she turned around to meet Itachi, looking completely unharmed and actually rather dashing.

"Itachi-san," Hinata greeted with a small smile. Itachi shifted nervously, not quite meeting her gaze.

"I believe we have some things to discuss in regards to last night." He said quietly, for once not looking at her chest and onyx eyes refusing to meet lavender.

"Which part? The dinner, the date that got crashed, the food fight, the interrogation, or the clean up?" Hinata asked scornfully, sarcasm dripping in her voice and allowing her mask to crack. Itachi smirked a bit. "Perhaps a little bit of all."

When the elevator doors opened to show that no one was in it, Hinata spat at her luck once more. Itachi held the door back for her as he silently slipped in after her.

"Before you say anything, Itachi-san, I should let you know that I'm extremely sorry for the way that I acted last night. It was extremely immature of me to allow my anger to best me." Hinata recited mechanically, bowing her head to make her seem ashamed. Of course she was ashamed, but it _was_ the dumbass that decided that it would be okay to pull a move on Hinata. _In the middle of a restaurant._

"Ah, no, don't worry about it! I don't think anything got seriously damaged other than our clothes and Naruto's face. You pack quite the punch, huh?" Itachi smiled at her. Hinata couldn't help but blush a little at the compliment, returning the grin as she patted her biceps. "I knew getting a black belt would come in handy one day."

Itachi chuckled whole-heartedly before he put a hand on Hinata's shoulder. "You know, I was thinking last night…"

Hinata's brow arched a degree higher as her arms folded underneath her chest. If this had anything to do with a "job promotion," her answer was going to be a flat _"NO!"_

Itachi let out a sigh, running a hand through his hair. "I can't believe I'm saying this but…I guess last night just kind of proved that it wasn't supposed to happen. It was really…sudden, wasn't it?"

Hinata nodded lightly, not sure where the conversation was going. "I honestly would be lying if I said it wasn't."

Itachi nodded grimly. "I understand that you might have some feelings left for me. I can only imagine what it must feel like to like somebody who can't return those feelings."

Hinata held up a hand to stop him, eyeing him in disbelief. "What?"

"What I'm trying to tell you is that perhaps, from now on, we should just keep things on a professional level." Itachi smiled ruefully at her, his eyes finally meeting hers. "For the better of this project, but I assure you, I'll still be around when you return to your firm."

In two seconds, Hinata felt the dire need to hug him for making this easier, but at the same time, begin working much more slowly so Itachi would never be able to achieve that dream of his.

"I totally and completely understand." Hinata said with forged solemn, hoping that her flop repressed smirk betrayed her disguised features. Well, here she was about to tell her boss that she was definitely not interested but this was even better! All she had to do was stand there and look hurt!

Itachi exhaled a sigh of relief, chuckling at her. "Okay, thank goodness…when I tell most women that, they throw themselves at my feet like a bunch of desperate morons."

Hinata's brow twitched as a vein bulged, her smile one of plaster. "I can only imagine."

But then Itachi pulled a spontaneous move as he slid an arm around her shoulders, much to Hinata's chagrin as she stared repulsively. Using his cupped fingers, he lifted her chin, her surprised look meeting his sexy incubus one.

"But because I refuse to let you get away, consider this a parting gift and a…_motivation_, if you will." He whispered huskily, lust glazing his eyes.

Hinata had no idea what the fuck was about to happen until his lips captured her.

Eyes widening considerably, a million different emotions coursed through Hinata's body, all of those emotions negative. Her fist clenching to her side and allowing her adrenaline to get the best of her, she whacked Itachi in the face before stumbling out of the open elevator doors.

Dumbfounded, the Hyuuga stared at the lobby of her floor in utter confusion as she attempted to understand what just happened in the course of several seconds.

Her mouth hung open. "I just slapped my boss."

* * *

Hinata already knew that Sasuke would be the easiest to apologize to. In fact, before Hinata could even open her mouth while standing awkwardly in the middle of Sasuke's office, said man had high-fived her for landing a few hits on his brother, who was actually using _makeup_ to hide his bruise, and then giving a fantabulous plum colored bruise to Naruto's eye.

"Did you get hurt too bad?" Sasuke asked curiously, his oddly warm grin spreading up to his ears. Hinata arched a brow, crossing her legs as she smirked back at him. "You seem oddly happy. And to answer your question, I only have a small scratch on me."

"Well it's not like everyday Itachi and Naruto get their asses handed over to them." Sasuke laughed to himself musically. Hinata had to share her own little giggle to accompany it.

"So where's your memento?" Sasuke asked, nodding back to her. Hinata pointed to her thin side. "Here, but it's really small."

Sasuke nodded pensively, his smile faltering back to his cold expressions. Hinata knew he was known as a cold man, so she was slightly surprised when the ice cube-as-a-heart-boss looked at her in concern. "You're dad isn't the nicest of all people."

Hinata's smile dropped off completely as a knot of dread tied her intestine together. Her heart clogged her throat, the mere _mention_ of her father's venom attitude towards her making her want to cringe.

Hinata found herself pulling a fish out of the water move once more, finding her mouth go dry and instead, allowing her downcast gaze to the floor and heavy breathing to do the talking for her.

"You shouldn't let him boss you around like that." Sasuke continued softly, clasping his hands in front of his mouth. Hinata sighed. "He's my dad. I can't do that."

"What if you moved out? You _are_ well over an adult now; surely he'll let you have your own place to stay." Sasuke frowned. Hinata forced on a small smile, shaking her head. "Nah, he wants me to stay close to him so I don't do anything stupid."

"That's very caring of him…" Sasuke offered sarcastically. Hinata could only shake her head once more as she turned on her heel, reaching for the doorknob. Though he couldn't see it, Hinata smiled ruefully.

"I guess so, huh?"

* * *

Naruto could practically feel the aura of hate and murderous instinct from down the hallway despite the fact that he was in his office. It was supposed to be tense because Hinata was most likely going to rip his head off of his body before chucking it down it down the garbage chute. But when he saw Hinata open the door, face devoid of any emotion, a different aura leaked into the air, painting it a morose, gloomy quiet setting. Naruto inhaled sharply at the sight of her face. She looked…well, terrible. Her makeup did a good job at covering her flawless face (at least to him) but her eyes were downcast, tired. Her mouth wasn't set in a hard line; the corners of her lips drooped down a bit, her eyes slightly narrowed.

"Naruto," Hinata greeted stiffly upon entering the room. She didn't even feel her heart swell at pride at the bruise on Naruto's eye. The air seemed to freeze for a moment, Hinata holding her breath dubiously as her teeth began to gnaw at her lip, watching as Naruto look up at her for a few seconds before he grinned at her. However, his smile didn't quite reach the corners of his eyes like it always did.

Leaning back in his chair and folding his arms behind his head, he watched as she stood in front of his desk. "Hey, Specsy."

"I'm tired of this fighting, Naruto." Hinata said quietly. Naruto's smile faltered as he arched a brow, noticing how Hinata refused to look at him in the eye. Her grip on her briefcase stiffened as she kept her gaze glued to her shoes before returning to him, her eyes filled with a flicker of a fight left before they dulled back down. "I don't want to fight you anymore. I'm sick of this stupid immature war that we've pitted against each other, and don't you dare say that you have no idea," Hinata's brows knitted together. "I know that you were the one who set me up with Itachi."

Naruto could only sit back and stare at her in wonder. Hinata gave him one last look of disappointment as she went to her seat, "I'm not going to say that I'm sorry for any of my actions to you, Uzumaki. But if you really can't stand me as much as I can't stand you, can we please get this done as fast as possible?"

Naruto's eyes widened slightly. _That's_ what she thought?! That he hated her? Well, if that was a case, Naruto had a _lot_ to do to her before he was done. A silence entered the room, all of Naruto's perfectly formulated arguments dying their behind his lips before delving back into his subconscious. Hinata's fingers danced over the keyboard of her laptop as she did her work unenthusiastically but at the same time, rashly.

"You underestimate your life." Naruto said finally. Hinata looked up at him; no popped vein on her forehead, no irritating twitching of the brow, just a blank slate. He got up from his desk, looking directly at her.

"You're right. I don't know anything about you or your life. I don't know how to act like a neighbor or a coworker. I do have an annoying happy-go-lucky nature. But I know this much about you, Hinata Hyuuga," Naruto's smile was completely off now as he stood in front of Hinata's desk, leaning over with his hands planted on either side of him so he was only a breaths distance away from her face, looking straight into her eyes. "You put up with a dad who doesn't know how to appreciate you for your positive attributes and only sees you for your negative ones. A grandmother who can love what's directly hers and tries her hardest to get you married. Siblings that are there for you occasionally but leave your side when somebody else comes into the picture

"You put up with Itachi, the closet pervert boss who wants to get naked with you. Sasuke, the stick-in-the-ass second head who only wants this to get done for the sake of getting the company, and then me. The delusional, happy-go-lucky idiot whose ambition in life is to make yours hell." Naruto paused as she stared back at him wide-eyed. "That's what you think, am I right?"

Hinata was in utter shock, completely surprised when her head disobeyed her and nodded. Was Naruto…reaching out to her? Was he on the same level of comprehension that she thought she was on? Did he understand what it meant to be here? A sliver of hope glimmered in her eyes as Naruto's brows furrowed together.

"Well then, Hinata Hyuuga, what I have to say to you is that you are spoiled, boring and lifeless." Naruto chuckled pitifully, retracting back as he smirked at her. She stared at him in hurt and disbelief, gawking at his retreating figure as if he totally just didn't hurt her more than she already was. A familiar twinge of anger fought against her mouth, wanting to let out a long, colorful stream of curses from her mouth, but chose the latter and remained silent.

Naruto glanced to see her enraged fingers punching at the keyboard, mouth clenched and her dulled eyes dancing with fire. He spun his chair to face the wall before a whole-hearted grin lit up his face.

'_Ah. There she is.'_

* * *

"You're mood swings are getting kinda…weird. Are you on your period?" Ino asked shamelessly as she watched Hinata stab at her dango with chopsticks, lightly intrigued as she played around with her own food. Her answer was a glower from the Hyuuga ex-heiress.

"I'm not sure if I should take that as a yes or a no." Ino sighed. Hinata swallowed, too consumed with her anger to even notice her blonde friend. "I hate him. I hate him, I hate him, I hate him, I hate him."

"Repeating it won't get you anywhere, babe." Ino replied casually, studying her manicured digits carefully. Hinata chose to ignore the remark and continued to rant. "He thinks he knows me _so_ well just because I act like a bitch to everyone."

"Honey," Ino cut her off, putting a hand gently on her forearm. "You _are_ a bitch to everyone."

"Not helping." Hinata growled at her. Ino released her grip on her friends' arm. "Have you seen Kurenai-sensei lately?"

"I've got a visit scheduled next week. After my birthday." Hinata's attention was now towards demolishing her poor dango. "But I don't know _how the hell_ I'm going to cope with him…"

"It seems to me that you did the wrong thing by not apologizing." Ino frowned, cupping her face whilst leaning on her elbows. Hinata arched a brow before breaking out into bitter laughter. "And if he thinks that he's going to get one, he's sadly mistaken."

Ino merely chuckled in response as Hinata glanced around their table. "Hey, I just realized…where's Kiba?"

"With Matsuri. He texted us, remember? Or were you too busy hating Naruto to bother?" Ino teased. Hinata rolled her eyes, taking out her iPhone and glancing down at the screen.

_hey ladies:P im babysitting 4 matsuri so i cant make it 2 lunch…dont miss me 2 bad ;)_

_-Kibbles_

"Ass." Hinata muttered, shoving her phone back into her bag. Ino was about to open her mouth but she caught something in the corner of her eye. She gasped, startling Hinata.

"What!?" Hinata asked, bewildered. Ino's cheeks flushed pink as she attempted to contain herself and refrain from jumping up and down in her seat. "It's _him!_ The really, really cute guy!"

"From the subway?" Hinata asked, confused, before she followed Ino's line of sight and saw the not-so-familiar man in a single booth eating a bowl of noodles. He was wearing black cargo pants, a loose-fitting tee shirt with some dubstep band that she'd never heard of before, and a pair of headphones encased his neck.

"Ew." Hinata muttered under her breath. Ino glared at her, the hurt obvious in her eyes. "You don't even know him!"

"It doesn't take a genius to realize that he's probably not on _our _level, if you know what I mean. Plus, he doesn't look a day older than seventeen tops." Hinata whispered rudely. Ino's glare turned into a scowl as she rolled her eyes at her. "You don't know him, so you have no right to judge him."

"I'm not judging him! I'm just saying that you could do so much better!" Hinata shot back.

"Hey, both of you speak up a bit! I can't hear a thing from back here!" A voice scolded from behind Ino. Both girls' attention turned into horror, but melded quickly as soon as they saw Naruto come out of the booth behind Ino's and scoot in beside the blonde.

"You were _eavesdropping!?_" It took every muscle in Hinata's body to prevent planting her chopsticks into his brain.

"Yes, and it's impossible to hear anything when you two are talking so quietly!" Naruto retorted wittily. His attention turned back to Ino, his eyes sparkling. "So, Ino, you like a man, right?"

"Boy." Hinata coughed.

"Shut up, Specsy. Ino, don't listen to a thing Hinata says. You can have _any_ man you want, no matter what." Naruto encouraged, smiling at her. Ino nodded, her bangs bouncing. "You're right!"

"Oh, baby, don't you think I already know that? Now let me do my thing…who's the guy?" Naruto's eyes scanned over the restaurant, Hinata remaining silent and doing deep-breathing exercises that she learned from Kurenai-sensei in her early days of therapy.

"That one!" Ino whispered excitedly, pointing. Naruto's eyes widened considerably, taking in the cropped black hair and the _"I don't really care" _attitude that radiated for him.

"Oh, wow! What a handsome man! You two would look fantastic together!" Naruto said. Hinata scoffed, rolling her eyes while Ino seemed to be entranced as to how Naruto was going to handle the situation.

"Hey! Hey you, over there! Uh…Shin!" Naruto called out loudly. Ino looked at him in disbelief. "You _know_ him!?"

"He looks like a Shin," Naruto whistled at him, finally gaining his attention. "My man, Shin! Over here!"

"You talking to me?" The ink-haired man replied, thoroughly confused. Naruto nodded, ushering him over. The three of them watched as he crossed the floor to stand in front of the trio. Naruto wrapped an arm around Ino protectively, a sympathetic smile on his face. "Shin, this here is my girlfriend,"

Hinata could only watch in disbelief as Naruto began crying crocodile tears, burying his face into Ino's shoulder.

"She w-wants to leave me for you, but I l-love her too much to let my s-selfishness get in the way of her happiness!" He hiccupped dramatically. Hinata rolled her eyes at the situation, Ino's expression confused.

"Go, my love, be free! Be with the man that you want!" Naruto cried out, grabbing Sai's hand and placing it in Ino's before shooting out of the seat and onto the side where Hinata was so that he could throw his arms around her and sob loudly into her coat, much to her dismay. The duo didn't even notice, looking directly into each other's eyes instead.

"Hey," He said softly.

"Hi," Ino giggled back. He shook her hand. "What's your name?"

"Ino. Ino Yamanaka." She breathed. He nodded. "I'm Sai…it's cool to meet you."

"Same here." Ino replied, smiling flirtatiously. Sai returned the smile before his cellphone beeped. "Oh, I gotta run. Tell you what…I'm the owner of a club downtown. How 'bout all of us hang out together one day? Sometime next week?"

"That sounds great!" Ino clapped her hands excitedly, writing down her number on a napkin. Sai looked at it, smiling back at her as he stuffed the napkin into his pocket. "Great! I'll see you then! You can bring mommy here too."

Hinata's vein popped as she glared dangerously at Sai despite the fact that he was already out the door. Ino and Naruto were laughing, despite the blood-boiling situation before them. Well, at least for Hinata, that was.

"Naruto! You are a _genius_!" Ino gushed, throwing her arms around his neck, both members of the hug choosing to ignore the table that was lodged in between them.

"Oh, I know!" Naruto sang back as she began to clamor excitedly.

"We're going to go to his club! Did you _see_ the way he smiled at me!? That was a sign!"

Hinata remained unimpressed as she snorted loudly. The laughing ceased as both blondes turned to look at her.

Hinata took it back when she saw the hurt in Ino's eyes. Naruto reached over and grabbed Ino's hand, making a weird face at Hinata. "She's just jealous because you're going to get a boyfriend!" He sang. Ino's face immediately lit up once more as she bounced excitedly.

Hinata's heart twisted as she saw her idiot blonde stealing her best friend blonde.

"Wait just a minute, what makes you think I don't _already_ have a boyfriend?" The words tumbled out of Hinata's mouth without her consent. Ino's mouth dropped open as she gasped loudly. Naruto faced her, a cocky grin splitting his face as he returned. "Because you're boring, lifeless, and spoiled."

Ino gasped again. "Who!?"

Without even thinking Hinata spat out the first name she could think of: "Kiba!"

Ino's eyes began watering over. "Y-you guys were dating and you never _told_ me!? What the _hell!?_"

"Well then, tell your _boyfriend_ to come clubbing with us next week." Naruto grinned wryly. Hinata understood the implied skepticism, and she was _all for_ proving him wrong.

* * *

"You told him I was your _boyfriend?!_" Kiba spat out the word in disbelief, his face matching his tone.

Hinata sighed loudly. "Yes, I did, and for that, I'm stupid and immature."

"Damn straight you are!" Kiba snapped his fingers in his face as they boarded the subway together.

"Come _on_ Kiba, _please?_"

"No! Why would you do something like that!?" Kiba stared back, still in utter and complete shock.

"So I could prove to that bastard that I'm not boring, lifeless or spoiled!"

"But you _are _boring, lifeless and spoiled!"

"Don't you think I already know that!? I don't want him to get the satisfaction of proving himself right!" Hinata cried out, frustrated.

"I have a date that night though…I can't cancel on Matsui _again! _She's crazy about me!_"_ Kiba reminded desperately. Hinata's nose wrinkled. "Well of course she's crazy about you, she's finally found a father for her kids."

Kiba sighed in defeat, shaking his head. "Why me?"

"Why not? You're perfect boyfriend material." Hinata shrugged non-chalantly. The hints of a smile whispered at the corners of Kiba's lips as his eyes softened, complete forgetting the argument before. "Wait, you think I'm good boyfriend material?"

"Of course!" Hinata nodded fervently. "You're sweet, caring, sexy, loyal-"

"You think I'm sexy?" Kiba stopped her by placing a hand on her shoulder, eyes glimmering in a feeling that Hinata's never noticed before. The indigo haired beauty grinned. "Of course. Why else would I say it?"

"Then it's settled. Yes." Kiba grinned, falling back into his seat. Hinata cocked a brow in confusion as she stared at him in confusion. "What?"

"I said _yes_, I'll be your boyfriend for the night." Kiba held his arms out open, ready for his reward.

"And what about Matsuri?" Hinata asked innocently, slightly narrowing her eyes as a grin split her own face.

"Who's Matsuri?"

Hinata laughed out loud for the first time in her shitty day, embracing Kiba.

* * *

Review! Because according to the FanFiblea, more reviews= faster updates:P

Anyways, now to address the questions. Good sweet baby Jesus, there're a lot.

** LeeRocks**

**-Why doesn't Hinata get a separate office?**

I don't know a thing about law or coworkers, but I decided I would make the two of them coworkers since they're working on the merge together, meaning they'd have to cross-reference and do legal stuff like that together, which is ironic because only JUST realized that they both work in utter and complete silence. Huh. Looks like I gotta work on that, so thanks for the realization.

**-Why would Hinata want to be with someone who does not give her any consideration? That's been her experience her entire life. She's dealt with the overwhelming pushiness and bullying of her family, why would she replicate that experience in a romantic relationship?**

We're talking about her and Itachi, right? If that's the case, Naruto was the one who set her up on the date with Itachi, meaning that it wasn't in her field of knowledge. If Itachi asked her out, she probably would've plastered on a fake smile and say that she was busy. She couldn't back out of it either since Hanaka, who's desperately trying to get her married, found out about it and for the sake of the name, Hiashi wouldn't let her back out of it either.

**-Are we going to see a toned down version of Naruto?**

I'd say he'll become more likable after about five more chapters. Can you bear him until then XD?

** forbiddenluv4Naruto **

**-Do you prefer you characters to the actual manga/anime's characters (because there vastly different)?**

I think if anything, I'm basing off my characters off of what other people write here on Fanfiction. I was so sick of Hinata stuttering on EVERY SINGLE FRIKKIN WORD and Naruto being all prankster but still a genius at the same time. I was just so fed up with it! If anything, I try to base off my Hinata-chan to Hinata from RTN mixed with the Hinata from the regular Naruto series, so she's got a little bit of her angry, harshness, but she's also still not very confident. But yes, I prefer my characters to the actual's X3

** And, why does Hinata put up with scumbag perverts like Itachi?! Ugh! I would just outright punch him if he ever touched me, and she seems so strong-willed, so I was just wondering what her fear with that is.**

Unfortunately for Hina-chan, Itachi is her boss's boss, making him like...God. I guess it just has to do with the fact that family name can't really be stained if she did anything to go against him because in the end, she's doing this all for her beloved position as heiress/owner to Hyuuga Firms. Haha, I'm an enormous Itachi fan, which is the reason why I guess I have so much fun writing him XD Flirty Itachi makes me happy X3 She's more like desperate to get away from his before she ends up catering to him.

**Oh, wait, one more question, what is the deal between Shikamaru and Hinata? Hmmmmm?**

Hehe, if you remember in the last couple of chapters ago, Shikamaru, who was actually Ino's blind date, mistakenly showed up to Hinata's house while Hanaka thought he was sent by the dateline service she had rudely asked for earlier for Hina-chan. Shikamaru was offended when Naruto mentioned Kiba's name because he misunderstood that the two weren't dating, but refused to listen to Hinata because he was made into a fool.

** The Crimson Lotus**** King**

**-Nice update but question did Hinata pour the soup on Itachi or Naruto?**

She dropped it on Itachi for breaking her beloved Ray-Ban's XD

I hope that clarifies a lot of the misconceptions. :)


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto Shippuden! nor do I own the song "Sexy Bitch" by David Guetta ft. Akon. But if you don't, youtube that ish.**

_Super-megafoxy-aweshome hot shoutout to: Kilalahinanaruto555, thestorymaker2, "TL," "Lee Rocks," ShyShinobi, "Guest," PsychoticSky, Hiccuproars (YAY! I'm so happy!) kika04, NinjaHero26, itspaulpoke, "Awesome Sauce," Qchessy, and xxxFlamingWingsxxx for reviewing._

**_A/N: A lot of the criticism comes from Naruto's character from what i see, but if anybody is willing to beta me on my grammar, i'd love the help :) Questions and comments will be answered at the end of the page. Enjoy the chapter! (or at least try to since Naruto is THAT unbearable)_**

* * *

Hinata didn't pay attention to the music that blared through her ears so loudly, she was sure that she would be deaf by tomorrow. She didn't heed to the fact that the bass was so heavy, her heart trembled unconsciously along with it. She didn't bat an eye to the couples and groups that danced dirtily on the spacious dance floor while some duos (and threesomes) were off to the side, making out heavily as if no one was around. How this was all possible, she didn't now, but quite frankly, she simply didn't give a damn.

The wood bar stool where she sat was out of the reaches of the flickering strobe lights, neon lasers shooting out of the cloudy atmosphere thanks to a dry ice machine hidden somewhere away from the clutches of horny and getting tipsy clubbers, but Hinata didn't care about that either.

In fact, she didn't care about wearing one of the rejected skimpy black dresses that Hanaka chose for her failed date with Itachi over fishnet leggings and booty shorts, or the fact that there were guys left and right buying her drinks and that her feet were killing her in her stiletto heels. Nope, she simply didn't care.

Hinata felt rather nostalgic as her eyes did a sweep over the club in between the flickers of light, trying to distinguish which mob of bobbing, pulsing bodies contained a certain blonde as badly remixed hip-pop songs blared through the speakers attached to the walls.

Nope, it wasn't Ino that she was worried about…said best girlfriend was to her right, drinking a martini in all the class her buxom body mustered in her hot pink cocktail dress. It was, in fact, Naruto that she was anxious to be looking for.

She felt a finger poke at her side, reflexively jumping at the touch. She turned to her left, finding her boyfriend-correction, _fake_ boyfriend arching a brow to her. Hinata wasn't psychic, but she could easily tell what Kiba was thinking as he stared at her inquisitively: _'Why are we here if he isn't?'_

Hinata merely shrugged, turning around in the stool so that her back faced the liveliness. Kiba remained focused on the dancing, looking actually kind of cute with his blazer, ribbed tee shirt and jeans. It wasn't long until Ino caught their attention.

"Guys! Don't you think you should act kinda like them!?" She screamed, using her head to point out a couple that was literally up against a wall making out. Hinata grimaced noticeably in disgust while Kiba chortled in laughed and clinked his alcoholic drink with Ino's. He waggled his brows at Hinata suggestively. Hinata scowled at him, crossing her arms tighter against her chest.

Kiba and Hinata had already filled Ino in on the details, who decided to play along for the fun of it in hopes that this would possibly spur a romance between her two best friends.

"_Babe_, I think you're grabbing attention with that dress." Kiba yelled, pointing out lecherous stares guys she had never ever seen before in her life give her.

"I don't care!" Hinata shouted back. She frowned at Kiba, pushing her glasses up her nose again. "Wanna bust!?"

"No!" Ino grabbed onto Hinata's arm. "We can't! Sai said he wanted us to be here!"

"Well then,_ you_ stay here! I have _much_ better things to be doing rather than sitting on my ass and watching people have sex publicly on a Friday night!" Hinata pushed herself off of the chair, only to find her body pressing against somebody's rock hard chest.

She stumbled back awkwardly into Kiba's arms, face flushed when his muscular arms wrapped around her waist while Naruto grinned cheekily at her. "I didn't actually think you guys were coming."

Hinata allowed Kiba's arm to drape around her waist as she cocked her head lightly, smirking arrogantly. "We're not the kind to pass up a challenge."

"Where's Sai?" Ino complained, breaking the light tension. "I wanna see him!"

"I'm right here!"

All four of them turned around to see Sai running towards them, wearing his normal street-cool attire with slouchy cargo pants, chunky sneakers and the normal shiny pair of headphones around his neck, dodging and pushing past groups of people.

"I'm so glad you guys came," Sai grinned as he held out his arm for Ino. She hooked onto it with eagerness, blue eyes sparkling. "We wouldn't have missed it for the world."

"That's great! Hey, Ino, wanna check out my booth upstairs? I have a friend taking care of the music for the night here so I could show you how to play with the light controls if you wanna."

Hinata internally rolled her eyes at the puppy-dog like tactics that Sai was using against Ino. And, much to her chagrin, said best friend believed every word of it as if it were a revelation from God.

"That sounds great!" Ino beamed, hugging his arm tighter. Sai grinned at her before winking at the others. "You guys go on ahead and party on…drinks are on the house."

"Thanks, Sai!" Naruto fist-bumped him as Kiba and Hinata watched the two excitedly walk off, Ino tucked right underneath his arm while giggling at whatever he was excitedly telling.

"So, you two are _really_ a couple, huh?" Naruto asked, a brow arched though his smirk said that he clearly didn't believe it. "If I remember correctly, Hinata was the one that was saying that you two were in no way dating."

"It was a cover-up of course. Think of the media for a damn moment." Hinata rolled her eyes, hoping that the simple gesture would win him over.

"So you _really_ are a couple." Naruto affirmed then.

"Damn straight." Kiba nodded overconfidently, Hinata elbowing him in the ribs as her heart began to pound lightly from the lying and forced a smile. "Oh, stop being so cocky. He was just asking a question."

"Well that's great! How did you guys meet?" Naruto asked, sitting in Ino's bar stool now and stealing Hinata's drink.

Kiba inhaled sharply as Hinata opened her mouth. "Oh, we met at the park!"

"But _Kiba_ told me you guys met at college." Naruto asked, a glint of mischief in his eye pointing directly at Hinata. Hinata gulped as she coughed out a laugh. She totally would've given a murderous glare at Kiba if she weren't busy thinking of an excuse.

"Kiba, you silly, silly boy! How can you forget that we met at the park! Remember?" Hinata fake-reminded him, punching him lightly in the arm for good measure.

Naruto didn't quite buy it, however. "What were you guys doing?"

"Well you see, we were both walking our dogs…" Kiba began, trying to sound casual about it. Naruto shook his head. "Nope! Hinata doesn't have a dog!"

"I was walking my neighbor's dog!" Hinata blurted out loud. Naruto's smirk turned into a devilish grin. "Hinata, you silly, silly girl!Jiraiya-sensei and Ino definitely don't own pets!"

"It was one of _my_ dogs, actually. Hinata, don't you remember?!" Kiba voice was beginning to crack; he downed a sip of his martini as a bead of sweat fell from his brow.

Naruto shook his head again. "But you were already walking your own dog, so how could Hinata be walking a dog?"

"Oh…" Kiba's face fell as he tried to think of an excuse. "I had _two_ dogs!"

"Really?" Naruto's grin only turned wider and wider. Hinata's cheeks were flaming, and she could definitely see the sheen layer of sweat collecting on Kiba's forehead.

"Actually, I _do_ have only one dog! The other one belonged to our friend, right Hinata?" Kiba looked at Hinata for reassurance.

"Oh, yeah!" She pretended to remember, slapping her forehead with her palm for dramatic effect.

"And who was this friend?" Naruto asked again. Without even thinking, Hinata though up of a name she never thought she'd say: "Matsuri!"

"Matsuri?" Both Kiba and Naruto chorused at the same time. Kiba immediately nodded. "Right! Matsuri with the bratty kids!"

"She had a party at her house and we became friends there. After we started college we became boyfriend and girlfriend." Hinata finished with a heavy sigh of relief.

"Really." Naruto said, stifling his laughter. "Matsuri as in…the one that's coming to us right now?"

Much to the fake-couple's obvious horror, Naruto was right; donned in a red cocktail dress that was just asking to get her pregnant again, Matsuri strutted up to the trio. Kiba immediately pushed Hinata off of his lap. She ignored the anger directed towards him and hoped to God that karma wouldn't punch her in the face.

"Kiba? What are you doing here?" Matsuri's eyes were sparkling though her brows were knit in confusion. "I thought you said you had family business to attend to."

"I-I do." Kiba replied weakly as he got up, pointing to either Hinata or Naruto. "This is my mummy, this is my daddy. Mummy, daddy, this is Matsuri."

Hinata face-palmed herself while Naruto took ahold of Matsuri's hand. "Ah, so you're Matsuri! So can you tell me the love story between Hinata and Kiba here?"

Matsuri's smile dropped off of her face as she looked at Naruto in confusion. "I'm sorry?"

"Well you _are_ Matsuri, right? The one with the bratty kids?"

"_Bratty kids?_" Matsuri snarled at Kiba, going on an all-caps rage on him. "How dare you! You think my children are _that_ bad?"

"They're _angels_! _Angels_, I said!" Kiba protested terribly. Matsuri exhaled sharply. "Shut up, you liar! You didn't even tell me you had a girlfriend!"

"_I_ didn't know I had a girlfriend! She's not my girlfriend!" Kiba pointed accusingly with Matsuri. She merely rolled her eyes dramatically. With the one finger salute and a strut back into the pulsating crowd, the trio was left for a loss of words.

"I'm so _confused_!" Naruto shrilled dramatically. "What _ever_ is going on!?"

Kiba merely turned to go take another shot. "I don't know! Ask her!"

"Specsy, _what_ is going on?" Naruto asked, except with the most annoying smile on his face.

"You _knew!"_ Hinata accused once she regained her sense of dignity. "You _knew_ I didn't have a boyfriend and that I was lying!" Her anger boiled up inside of her as she pushed a finger at his chest. "Why didn't you just come out and say it!? Why bother cause all the drama?"

"_You_ started this drama, quite actually." Naruto shrugged it off as if it were no big deal. Hinata merely scowled, crossing her arms against her chest and glaring at him. Kiba frowned at her, siding with Naruto.

"Yeah, this is all your fault."

Hinata groaned before rolling her eyes. "It was _you_ who told me, _'hey, why don't you smile a bit?'_"

Naruto shook his head, wagging his finger in her face. "Nope! I said, _one-two-three-cheese!"_

Kiba began mimicking him as they both smiled together. Hinata stamped her foot. "Anybody can live their life and have fun by getting drunk and partying in clubs like these!"

"Okay, so then have a drink." Naruto offered a shot glass. Hinata shook her head, crossing her arms tightly over her chest. "I don't want to."

"Nope! It's because you can't. You're a bore." Naruto said bluntly. Kiba nodded, agreeing with him. "Yeah, you _are_ quite boring."

That was _it._

Kiba and Naruto turned around in their bar stools, completely forgetting Hinata was there.

"So, tell me about Matsuri…she's hot!"

"Oh, yeah, I know! But her kids? Don't even get me started!"

Hinata easily pushed her way through the boys to the bar to come face to face with the bartender. She slammed her hand against the countertop, slightly startling him.

"Give me a beer. _Now_."

"Wait, Hinata, are you sure you want to do that?" Kiba put a hand on her shoulder, but she easily jerked out of his grip and ignored him.

The bartender reluctantly slid an opened bottle to her, unsure if it would be the right thing to do. Hinata defiantly brought it up to her lips and vowed to make Kiba and Naruto take back their words in a matter of minutes.

She tilted the bottle upwards, sending in a heavy stream of vile tasting fluid down her throat. It tasted so disgusting, she had to force herself to swallow, which only ended up with the feeling that somebody had taken gasoline and rubbed it all over her throat before setting it ablaze.

The bottle felt lighter and lighter as she had to tilt up her drink higher in order to get out all of its contents, the liquid eagerly escaping the clutches of the bottle before disappearing into her throat.

Her head began to feel much lighter than it used to be as she slammed the bottle down onto the table top.

"One more," she managed to croak through the burn. Naruto was patting her back encouragingly while Kiba was making unintelligible noises. "Um…Hinata…I think you're at your limit. Let's get you-"

Hinata didn't hear what he was saying because she was too busy downing her second drink. Naruto was clapping, enthusiastically urging her on. "Come on, Specs! You're doing great!"

Hinata's world began spinning around in all kinds of directions as she slammed the second back down. She could feel the adrenaline pump through her veins, mingling with the cheap alcohol and creating a sense of euphoria that fought for dominance over her reasoning and body, and unfortunately, won.

That's right. Hinata Hyuuga, ex-leader to Hyuuga Firms, eldest daughter of one of the most successful business men in the world, had just become drunk in a matter of minutes. If she had pupils, they sure as hell would be dilating. Her breathing accelerated, and the room became hot as the motions of people became much more blurred, as if they were badly taken pictures all sequencing together into one never ending movie.

"H-Hinata?" Kiba asked, unsure at the sudden seriousness that took over Hinata's face. Naruto studied Hinata closely, unsure of her next movement.

"Specs?"

At the sound of her nickname, she turned to face him, a very light curtain of sweat making her face glitter. She beckoned with a shaky finger for him to come closer. Obliging, he lent her his ear as she grabbed the side of his face, letting out one of the most unlady-like belches Naruto had ever heard in his life. Kiba's mouth was wide open at the sight of whatever demon had overtaken Hinata's body at this point.

"YYEAAAAAAAAAAH!" Hinata screamed directly into Naruto's face before grabbing Kiba and kissing him on the face wildly. She broke apart from him abruptly enough in time for him to see her disappear into the crowd, Naruto and Kiba left both speechless.

"Holy shit, we have to get her home!" Kiba got up immediately. Naruto pushed him back in his seat. "Don't worry, even though she's drunk, she'll probably be dancing around like an idiot for a bit before she passes out. I've seen people like her; I highly doubt she'll do anything too drastic."

The next events made Naruto take his words back entirely.

A loud cacophony between a baritone and a screaming soprano sounded over the music before the yelling completely ceased.

* * *

"What the hell is going on down there?" Sai mused to himself as he realized one of his fellow DJ's, Yamato, was ensued in a battle over a microphone that some rosy-cheeked girl was trying to steal.

Ino peered over his shoulder, pausing from playing with the light controls. She couldn't make out the faces very well, but she could distinctly tell the patterning of fishnets on her legs and the insignia of a high ponytail and glasses.

She gasped. "The spotlight! Put it on them!"

Sai easily maneuvered a button to fall on his DJ and the girl, Ino's eyes widening and pushing Sai aside so she could double check. Her mouth was wide open in shock as she faced Sai. "That's Hinata!"

* * *

Hinata had no idea what had driven her to do this. It was as if every single frustration she had in her body had been dispelled with every booty shake and head bob. But the feeling to stop was insignificant to her non-stop drive to do more. She danced brazenly between other bobbing bodies, some girls, some boys, but at this point, she didn't even know.

But then, as if a five hundred pound anvil had dropped right in front of her, she crashed into the invisible being and stood still as her heart beat on excitedly, the blurs slowly turning back into legitimate shapes; the contour of a bust here, a rectangular torso brushing against her back. Her breathing halted as she glanced at her hands, making sure they were still hers. Everything seemed so…dreamlike. Everything was vivid; the lights that kept on shooting out were _much_ brighter in comparison to the ones that were shining before. How did this feeling even happen to her?

She tried to recount her memories, but it hurt her light head to even think of it. But you know what? She liked this feeling. For once, she felt as if she didn't have a name to uphold. For once, she didn't care if she lost a case. She forgot her stupid coworker…what was his name again? She didn't care if her best friend was probably making out with that sleazy DJ guy, or that her other best friend totally dumped her on her face, or that her siblings sucked, or that her dad was probably the biggest d-bag to walk on the face of this planet, or that her boss's goal in life was to get laid by her, or anything.

She wasn't Hyuuga, lawyer, ex-heiress, sister, best friend, daughter, worker…she was nothing tonight except for one thing.

She was Hinata. _Just_ Hinata.

The feeling of this new identity sent her already fluttering heart pounding along with the beat of the music, where she realized she was in the midst of a club.

She frowned as she squinted at the harsh lights at the front, where some mousy-haired DJ was bobbing his head with headphones similar to Sai's. Hinata's upper lip curled in distaste. How _dare_ he ruin her epiphany by blaring music like that! Most of the people here danced terribly anyways; what were they doing!? Looking for a place to dry-hump without being judged? And what was _with_ the music taste anyways? It would even put anybody with a deep love for country music to shame!

Driven with the mindset of slapping that DJ upside the face and teaching the club-goers a lesson, she marched on up to the DJ stand, standing viciously in front of the buff man. As she stole his attention, she grabbed the microphone.

"Hey! What the hell do you think you're doing!?" He cried out, ensuing into a chase of tug of war with her. The sound of their fingertips hitting the mic sounded through the music and poured out the speakers, beginning to fawn the interest of other clubbers. A spotlight damn well near blinded her, as she shrieked loud enough and pushed the mute button of the music, consuming the place in utter silence.

"STOP!"

_Now _she had everyone's attention. The entire club was as silent as death as she walked around the stand, spotlight still on her, as her mind shut down and acted upon all impulse and feeling. Her eyes watered slightly as they reduced to slits at the harshness of the light blaring down at her, staring back into the faces of at least two hundred eyes that stared back at her in a mixture of curiosity and pure lust.

She turned to glance back at the DJ, who was busy staring at her in wonder as to what her next move would be.

She turned back to the awaiting crowd.

She was Hinata Hy-no. Just Hinata.

With non-trembling hands as her heart swelled with confidence, she pulled out her hairband, her waterfall of indigo hair tickling the small of back. She took off her glasses next, finally breaking out of her previous identity.

Tonight, nothing mattered.

* * *

"Oh. My. Kami." Ino breathed, blue eyed wide in total and complete shock as her heart stood still, watching her best friend keenly. Sai quickly turned on the controls to his dashboard, fingers dancing over his station as he pushed a single button.

"Don't worry, Gorgeous," Sai flashed a reassuring smile as he suddenly felt extremely daredevil. "We got this. Those lights now, if you will?"

* * *

Naruto was at a loss of words when the hair came down.

He nearly forgot how to breathe when the glasses came off.

But he practically fainted when Hinata pulled down the zipper in the front of her dress..._all the way_.

Time slowed as the discarded garment pooled at her stiletto'd feet, the only thing covering her top now was a lacy bandeau that left her entire creamy stomach and shoulders and arms bare for the world to see. Who would have ever thought that someone who tried so hard to seem unattractive was so beautiful?

A collective gasp, woots and wolf-whistles sounded as the useless dress fell to the floor.

Naruto wanted to peel his eyes away from her for a moment to catch a glance at Kiba and take him up on that offer to get her home, but he was just so damn mesmerized. Kiba nudged his arm.

"We have to get her down! She's taking off her clothes!"

"It's okay, everybody here is naked." Naruto reminded inattentively.

Suddenly, as if on cue, a heavy beat accompanied by even louder bass vibrated throughout the club, Hinata taking defiant steps with each beat down the DJ booth and onto the dance floor. The spotlight remained on her, her sweat looking more as if somebody had dipped her in a tub of glitter as she sparkled lightly. The crowd parted like the Red Sea around her before swallowing her again, forming a circle around her. Some of the more daredevil guys leered around the inner edge of the circle, hoping for a chance to feel her round ass against their junk. Naruto got up, completely forgetting Kiba, a small sense of overprotectiveness surging over him as he boldly fought through the crowd in time to watch Hinata dance.

_Yes I can see her_

_'Cause every girl in here wanna be her_

She started bouncing from foot to foot, dipping her hips out as she began to slowly raise her arms around her head. Naruto forgot how to breathe momentarily as he watched on, trying to memorize each one of her entrancing moves.

_Oh, she's a diva_

_I feel the same, and I wanna meet her_

She was definitely not a diva right now…she was a slave. It was as if the music was a puppeteer and Hinata was nothing but the puppet, each beat pulling a different string, each word raising a body part. Hinata's hands were well above her head now, her hips moving together into a steady beat as her knees bent with each drop.

_They say she low down_

_It's just a rumor and I don't believe 'em_

Naruto could feel the pressure of a nosebleed begin to form in his head as she began to turn into circles, her head bobbing to the music and throwing her mane of hair in opposite directions.

_They say she needs to slow down_

_The baddest thing around town_

She wore a small smirk at the tips of her reddened lips before slowly bringing her hand down to run across the length of her body. Boys were beginning to cat-call and whistle at her left and right while some other daring girls decided to go ahead and dance with her. Despite the mixture of faces closing in on her, Naruto only remained where he stood, watching her every move.

_She's nothing like a girl you've ever seen before_

_Nothing you can compare to your neighborhood hoe_

As if a crescendo had sounded, Hinata finally took the time to open her hazy eyes. Lavender orbs smirked seductively at all the boys before she ran a hand through her hair, turning around.

_I'm tryna find the words to describe this girl_

_Without being disrespectful_

Her arms began moving together in synchronized movements, as if a wave ran through her body while at the same time, moving with the same elegant ballet-like moves combined with heavy hip-hop beats.

_The way that booty movin', I can't take no more_

_Have to stop what I'm doin' so I can pull up close_

Naruto's eyes fell victim to the sorcery she was conjuring with each booty roll, watching as her hips rolled around sexily while actually bringing up a finger and beckoning with a small curl for whoever wanted to take the challenge to dance with her. He could feel his heart exploding, his breathing stopping all together. And though he felt completely useless and knew he had to do something, he simply _couldn't_.

_I'm tryna find the words to describe this girl_

_Without being disrespectful_

Finally she stopped with the seductive moves, teasing and turning the way she was before she threw her hands up in the air again and her hair flew from side to side, her body rocking all together.

_Damn, girl_

_Damn, you's a sexy bitch, a sexy bitch_

She began jumping up and down, left and right from one leg to the other and rocking her head to and fro, an entire wave of people descending upon her as she began dancing to the chorus.

_Damn, you's a sexy bitch, damn, girl_

_Damn, you's a sexy bitch, a sexy bitch_

Naruto swallowed thickly as his eyes remained glued to Hinata. Grabbing the closest girl he could find, he began dancing with her despite the fact that his full attention was still on Hinata. However, out of nowhere, Kiba slid in, equally intoxicated as Hinata as he moved Hinata's body with his, stealing her attention as she responded back to him using her body, allowing him to grab her hands and dance.

* * *

Hinata had absolutely no idea who in their right mind was touching her at the moment, but she was too drunk to care. She was the princess of the club tonight, and she was going to give a show they would never forget, drunk or not. Turning her head to smirk at Naruto, her movements began faltering as she saw him slowly give his attention to his partner.

_Damn, you's a sexy bitch, damn girl_

_Damn, you's a sexy bitch, a sexy bitch_

A girl was dancing against him much too provocatively for her tastes, and though he did look distracted, he was still dancing with her nonetheless. He ran a hand over her body, purposely teasing the girl with touches not quite intimate but at the same time, not all too casual. Hinata automatically felt revulsion and hatred for that _slut_ that was dancing with her coworker. Even though she was intoxicated, she paused momentarily before thinking, yes, actually thinking: was she…jealous?

_Damn, you's a sexy bitch, damn, girl_

Nah, definitely not. Definitely the alcohol serenading her. She finally raised both arms over her head as her hips dropped heavily to the ground before arching her back as she brought it back up, her fleshy bottom meeting the texture of denim as the two scraped against each other. As she finally turned around to wink at her dance partner, she found it was Kiba's hands that were running up and down her body and was pushing her closer to him. She merely shrugged; sure she was drunk and probably had terrible judgment, but her best friend was better than a random stranger. She grinned at him before diving over to the bar again to get some more of this epically awesome fluid in her.

The moments all blended in together. Naruto was dancing with a bunch of other ladies now, enjoying himself. Kiba had found himself up against a wall with some girl on his leg and another one that was looking at him with pouty lips and was tousling his hair. Hinata continued to dance with whoever came to her, every so often going back to get another drink before she finally stumbled into Naruto. She pointed at him, a scowl on her face as she glared heavily at him.

"_Listen to me_!" Hinata slurred unintelligibly as she wobbled. Naruto nodded avidly, throwing his hands up to his sides. "I'm listening!"

Before Hinata could make another sound, she collapsed to the ground. Naruto pursed his lips, suddenly realizing that Kiba was right.

"W-what's going on!?" Kiba muttered drunkenly as he appeared next to Naruto.

"We're going home," Naruto said. "Hinata just fainted, so I guess I should probably bring her back…"

"Hinata? Who's tha-" Kiba never finished his question because he fell backwards too, unconscious. Naruto weighed out his options as he gazed at the two bodies on the floor.

He shrugged before striking out an ending pose as the beat ended.

* * *

"Let me go! I said _let me go, damnit_!" Hinata screamed and kicked as the bouncer rolled his eyes, ignoring said girls' protests over his shoulder, trying to get a hold of her ankles so she wouldn't kick him in his stomach.

"Hey! Who do you think you're touching!? I'm _Michael Jackson!"_ Kiba's slurred speech was heard soon after as another bouncer pushed him through the open doors of the club.

Hinata and Kiba were dropped unceremoniously onto the floor as Naruto helped them both up before Hinata pushed him away again.

"How dare you!? Who are you!?" She demanded aggressively. Kiba stumbled around before gaining some sense of consciousness. "I'm Michael Jackson!"

"Who am I?!" Hinata then demanded, the blonde and blunette completely ignoring Kiba. Naruto pulled out her glasses before she blinked into them.

"Who am I? Naruto Uzumaki, and you're Hinata Hyuuga, drunk out of your mind."

"Whoa, hold up, I think I just saw Michael Jackson." Kiba said blankly, staring into the face of the bouncer.

"Shut up! Just shut up! I'm going home!" Hinata began to turn on her heel.

"That's Michael Jackson, guys!" Kiba exclaimed excitedly, pointing to the aggravated bouncer. Naruto nodded, distracted.

"Yes, we know, Kiba. Hinata, what the hell's gotten into you!? We're going home!" Naruto shook her by the arms. Hinata scowled at him, stamping her feet.

"_You_ were the one that told me to laugh and smile and enjoy myself, and now when I finally get the chance, you want to bring me home!? You. Are. So._ Confused_!" Hinata yelled at him, punching him harmlessly in the stomach.

"Even I'm confused. Is he Michael Jackson or not?" Kiba added in, looking at Naruto with such desperation it seemed as if the question was similar to a death sentence. Before Naruto could even reply, Hinata rolled her eyes again.

"Shut up! I'm leaving now!" Hinata declared. Naruto easily pulled her back as she struggled weakly against him. "Let me go! I'm going to call the cops on you! I'm going to scream rape! _Rape! RAPE! He's RAPING ME!" _Hinata screamed out to the world. Naruto shook her by the shoulders roughly.

"Shut up! I'm going to…I'm going to slap you if you don't shut up! You too, Kiba! Shut up!" Naruto said angrily. Hinata's eyes watered as she whispered, "Why are you shouting?"

"I'm not shouting!" Naruto refuted, snapping. "Now listen to me, you both! I'm going to take you guys home, got it? Now hold hands."

Kiba gave his hand bashfully over to Hinata, who picked it up with obvious distaste. Naruto rolled his eyes. "You idiots."

He separated them before standing in between them, grabbing both their hands. Naruto knew that there was no way a taxi would risk getting its precious hide covered in vomit if the occupants were drunk, so they had no other choice but to walk.

The trio walked through the streets together, Hinata and Kiba singing off-key and swaying against Naruto.

"Both of you, shut up. Especially you, Kiba. You're terrible at singing." Naruto said bluntly. Kiba meekly raised his hand as Hinata rested her head on Naruto's shoulder. The blonde sighed, looking wearily at the drunk brunette. "Yes, Kiba?"

"I just wanted to say that it feels like we're going to school again." He said, somehow managing not to slur once. A warm grin spread on Hinata's face.

"Yeah. My Okaa-san would hold my hand like this and bring me to school every day." The smile dropped off of her face as her eyes watered over. Kiba began crying on Naruto's other side.

"What's the matter with you!?" Naruto asked, unsure of what to do with the weeping man.

"I m-miss my mom." Kiba replied before bawling very un-manly like into Naruto.

"Oh, I'm sorry. When did she die?" Naruto asked gently. Kiba stopped bawling as he glared at Naruto. "She's not dead! I can't miss my mom when she's alive!?"

"Of course you can," Hinata said quietly, her eyebrows pulled together as more tears collected. "I miss my Okaa-san a lot…why did she leave us? I miss her…"

The trio stopped walking all together as tears streamed down Hinata's face. Naruto was about to pull his hand out of Kiba's to wipe them away for her, but Kiba got to her before he did.

"Hey, Hina-chan," Kiba cooed, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "You don't look nice when you cry. You look hot when you're mad. Whenever you miss your mom, remember me, and then you'll become mad."

Kiba wiped away the tears that fell down Hinata's face as he grinned at her. "I really like you, Hinata. My day feels incomplete without seeing you, Hina-chan."

Was that seriousness in his tone?

Naruto slid his hand out of Hinata's as her pupiless gaze finally locked on with Kiba's. Naruto's breathing hitched momentarily. _Ah_. _Now_ he understood their relationship.

Hinata's face split into a beautiful grin as she giggled. "You're so cute!"

"Hey! I'm not cute! I'm Michael Jackson, remember!?" Kiba rambled. Naruto could only watch, feeling his heart wrench slightly as Hinata and Kiba stumbled, tangled in each other's arms, spewing out nonsense. He let out a small smile, following after them and listening to their drunken words spell out their level of friendship for Naruto.

* * *

Meh, suckish ending. I still am debating on whether or not to do this, but should I post up the date with every chapter that I put up? As in the date of day in Playing Interventionist World? Get back to me! Reviews are appreciated :P

**Question and concern time:**

**From: Kilalahinanaruto555: Not to mention how exactly Naruto starts to warm up to Hinata too? That's going to be an interesting read! XD**

Man, i love you. I know i can always count n a review from you :P I won't exactly say that Naruto warms up to her, i think it'll be more like Hinata learns to cope with him :)

**From: "TL": You know this is crazy, Sasuke at this point, and Kiba to a point are the only men I like in your whole story.. that's amazing, I can't stand Sasuke normally and here he is about he only person besides Hinata and oddly Ino that I LIKE right now. How did you do it?**

I'd say madness with a dash of creative genius and plot. I appreciate your opinion and respect that you don't like my characterization for some of the characters, but isn't that the entire point of FF? To make your characters? I'm sorry you don't like them. But hey, i do, and i think that's what really counts. And if it matters, chapter 12 is when their relationship will change.

**From: "LeeRocks": I was just wondering how could a relationship evolve between the two when a lot his behaviors (pushiness, bullying, humiliating her, etc) mimick those of her kin? I assumed that the two would end up romantically involved at some point. So I was just wondering why would someone choose a partner who pretty much exemplified her horrible experience with her family. Again, not a flame just genuinely curious.**

Hey, its the world of Fanfiction. Anything can happen! When developing the characters for Hinata and Naruto, i pretty much took Naruto, multiplied by 1000, and then made Hinata the polar opposite, since it IS a law of science that opposites attract. Thanks for the clarification about your curiosity, though, it shows that you care about my feelings:P

**From: ShyShinobi: I have a question: Why does everyone seem to think Hinata is spoiled? I mean, with all the crap she puts up with, I don't see where she's spoiled...**

Huh, i never meant to think that EVERYBODY would think she's spoiled, but i guess i sort have been pushing it in that direction. I guess it all part due to the fact that Hinata lives a very lavish and lucky lifestyles in comparison to the world, and she can't seem to either respect that or appreciate it, you know? Thanks for reviewing though :)

**From: "Guest":Five more chapters of Naruto acting worse than his 8 year old canon self? Not sure I can stomach that. Also why the hell does he care to meddle in everyone else's business, mainly Hinata's? He makes Michael Scott from The Office look like a God. On the business side of things who the fuck would have this dick being the boss of their company?**

Two, but hey, who's counting anymore? If you honestly can't stomach Naruto's immaturity, then simply stop reading it. Don't get me wrong, i appreciate your opinion, but if you really dislike it, no one's forcing you to read it. And Hinata is his coworker. It's part of the plot. If they were silent to each other the entire time, don't think there'd be much of a story, would there? Well, seeing that there are not one but TWO dicks in charge of Naruto and Hinata, i'm going to politely ask for you to be a bit more specific than that.

**From: NinjaHero26: Really funny story. I really like it so far and how it's going but, will this be one of the stories where it takes Naruto and Hinata forever to get together? Will they even get together?**

Their relationship will pick up starting next chapter, AND to answer your other question, yes and no. It's complicated :P Keep on reading and maybe you'll find out! Thanks for the review!


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